Spring 2024 alumni PSLF panel
LRAP testimonials
“Berkeley Law’s LRAP program is astounding. The fact that my loans were paid for so many years after graduating enabled me to comfortably pursue a career in legal services. There is no way I could have afforded to work for the public interest if I had to pay loans on top of other living expenses. The program is truly remarkable and makes me even more proud to be a Berkeley Law graduate.”
– 2007 graduate working in legal services who received PSLF
“Without LRAP, I would not have been able to start my legal career at a legal aid office representing migrant farmworkers… While my salary later went up, I also had children and needed to pay for daycare (and lots of other child-related expenses), which would have been impossible if I had not had LRAP’s support. I always found LRAP staff to be responsive and helpful, and I am so grateful for the decade of support I received from Berkeley to pay off these loans.”
– 2011 graduate working at a legal nonprofit
“I am forever grateful for the LRAP program. Staff respond quickly, and always help answer my questions. They are my resource not just for LRAP questions, but student loans questions. And I am, of course, grateful for the commitment to financial assistance for public interest employees.”
– 2018 graduate working in public defense
“I wanted to convey my sincere gratitude to your office for all the years of LRAP support I received as I serviced my debt. I could not have afforded to take the human rights law pathway I took without that support from Berkeley.”
– 2008 graduate working at an educational institution who received PSLF
“I have had great interactions with LRAP staff. They were nice, informative, kind, attentive and explained the program to me clearly and effectively.”
– 2019 graduate working in legal services
“So far I’ve been extremely satisfied with the level of support and communication coming from the financial aid department. Thank you!”
– 2018 graduate working in public defense
“I knew that a career working to bring racial justice and money-blind fairness to southern criminal courts would follow law school. I also knew that this career would be short-lived without strong LRAP support. I’m closing in on 12 years of challenging human rights abuses in the Deep South’s sprawling carceral system because of Berkeley’s sustaining LRAP program… [LRAP] made my longevity in the public interest world possible. “
– 2010 working at a legal nonprofit who received PSLF
PSLF testimonials
“Thank you LRAP for helping me enroll in PSLF and IBR upon graduation from Berkeley in 2010 and for helping me with payments when I made a low salary. I am so grateful to have been able to follow my career goals of being a public defender and, after years of anxiety and hardships due to carrying student loan debt totaling over $250k, being freed from that worry… I am still in shock that my balance is zero, but I know that I deserve this because I believed in and remained committed to PSLF because of LRAP’s help.”
– 2010 graduate working in public defense who received PSLF
“LRAP provided two primary things for me. First: hope, in the form of financial assistance for years – which I needed to make my career choice viable. Second: success, in the form of structure and guidance to navigate PSLF to ultimate loan forgiveness. Thank you, LRAP!
LRAP got me thinking and planning early about preserving my options, with advice on the types of loans to utilize or avoid. LRAP’s rigid requirements crystalized the PSLF criteria into actionable, understandable steps. As my colleagues today struggle with the anxiety of realizing they didn’t qualify, I realize how fortunate I am to have gone to a school that was dedicated to making PSLF work. I am so very grateful to LRAP for the direct financial assistance I received and for putting me on a sure-footed path to PSLF.”
– 2008 graduate working in government who received PSLF
“I chose Berkeley because of LRAP, knowing that I wanted to enter public service. 14 years later, Berkeley supported me until I could get forgiveness (my first two years were in low bono and I took one year off) – it has made all of the difference in my career and in my life. My annual salaries were $45k, $55k, $70k for most of these years, and I couldn’t have done what I have without LRAP.”
– 2007 graduate working in government who received PSLF
“[T]he help from [the Financial Aid] office was instrumental in getting me informed and setting me on the right path. Honestly, just having you all there to confirm that I wasn’t crazy, that PSLF would actually work and I could put all this debt on myself but have a smart plan for it, was hugely supportive… The best thing I can say about PSLF is that it actually worked. If you can commit to being in public interest or public service, and put in the effort to document it and follow up with your servicer when they inevitably make mistakes, the government will pay for your education. It’s not just a pitfall-laden scam as a lot of people fear. The program holds the promise of stocking impactful organizations with well-educated talent, potentially for the benefit of all society, and all we have to do is keep up with the paperwork.”
– 2011 graduate working in government who received PSLF