<p>Harvard announces it is suspending program whereby third year students could have their tuition waived if they pledged to work in nonprofit or government jobs. Article also mentions HLS is reducing the weeks of support it gives to those taking public interest summer jobs.</p>
<p>article is only about harvard, but if harvard is having to cut back, what will the future bring for other similar programs at other law schools?</p>
<p>If I’m not mistaken, Harvard based their decision based on reported interest from the 1L class. That was a bad move, I think.</p>
<p>Many students enter law school wanting to save the world, especially though public interest. Others who entered with the intent of doing biglaw are trying to cover their bases by indicating intent, should they strike out during 2010 OCI. </p>
<p>The flaw, though, is that many students who enter law school to save the world through public interest just end up doing biglaw. And not that many HLS students will strike out during 2010 OCI, so I think the actual number of students who decide to take advantage of HLS’s PI initiatives when the time comes will be a lot lower than HLS’s official estimates.</p>
<p>Shame.</p>
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Unless I’m mistaken, there are no other similar programs. Harvard is cutting back their third-year tuition waiver, not their LRAP (or LIPP or whatever they call it), aren’t they?</p>
<p>I don’t think so.</p>
<p>The most other top schools offer is LRAP, guaranteed 2L summer PI funding, and some program for funding for 1L summer (be it guaranteed or through some weirdly selective fellowship program).</p>
<p>according to the article, the economy played a big role in two ways – endowment earnings to fund the program were way down –
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<p>AND also – with the economy’s effects on law firm jobs –
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<p>harvard had typically see only about 10% of its class go into public interest jobs.</p>
<p>i thought other schools had loan forgiveness programs for those entering the public sector – not the same thing as this program, but if the decline in law firm jobs increases graduates heading to such jobs, i would think such programs could also be threatened if costs for them soar.</p>
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<p>Maybe, maybe not. LRAP programs don’t pay off loans in a single, lump sum. Rather, they pay off the loans over time (and when the student has assumed the job after he/she graduated). The first class who will probably have a surge of PI joiners is probably the class of 2011. When the class joins the workforce, sure, the schools might be stretched initially in trying to pay off everyone’s debt. But, I hope, by 2012, thing should be improving, and schools will benefit from the upswing in that they will be able to handle the increased PI participation. I could be wrong about all of this, as I haven’t thoroughly researched LRAP programs.</p>
<p>It’s ironic that schools initiated these programs to increase PI participation. Now that PI participation is increasing, some schools can’t seem to put their money where their mouth is.</p>