Grants360°: Loan Repayment Program (LRP)
- Sara Tabinsky
Key Takeaways
Avonne Connor, Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Danetta Sloan, Associate Research Professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Society, and David Sosnowski, Assistant Scientist in the Department of Menal Health, discuss their experiences securing financial aid from NIH’s Loan Repayment Program (LRP) and strategies to consider during your application process.
Overview:
The LRP provides financial assistance to professionals by paying off a portion of their educational debt, sometimes covering up to $50,000 per year depending on the applicant’s debt and income situation.
To quality, applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and have educational debt incurred from undergraduate or graduate studies. The program assesses a debt-to-income ratio to determine eligibility.
The LRP not only provides financial aid relief but also enhances the applicants career by strengthening their CV. Recipients gain recognition for successfully obtaining competitive funding.
Recipients can reapply for additional loan repayment, and they are encouraged to avoid breaks in application to maintain eligibility. Interruptions result in a reassessment of debt to income which will be notably less favorable to the applicant.
The process is competitive, similar to writing a grant, and persistence is often needed, as some applicants apply multiple times before securing funding.
Application Process:
Applicants need to submit a one-page personal statement that highlights their commitment to a research career. This statement should tell a compelling story about the applicant’s background, career path, and future research goals.
The research statement is a maximum of 8 pages (including references) and includes the background, methods, and strategies for the proposed research. The research must be aligned with the LRP’s guidelines and show clear, achievable goals within the two-year funding period.
A 5-page biosketch is required, similar to the format used for NIH grants. It highlights the applicant’s academic and professional background.
Applicants need to provide evidence of support from their institution, typically in the form of letters from department chairs or mentors. These letters confirm that the applicant has funding and resources to conduct the proposed research for the required time period.
A two-page mentoring and training plan document is required, outlining the mentoring and training support the applicant will receive and detailing how their research skills will be developed.
Applicants must request letters from mentors, department chairs, and other references. It is not just helpful, but often the norm, for the applicant to provide draft letters to mentors to assist in the writing of letters.
Applicants are required to submit financial information, including promissory notes and loan statements. This documentation must be submitted during the financial review phase, which occurs if the applicant passes the initial review.
The LRP has strict deadlines, usually around November 21st. Applicants must ensure that all documentation, including support letters, is submitted by this date.
Review, Approval and Payment Process:
Initial Review: Once submitted, applicants undergo an initial review, which focuses on the quality of the research plan and the applicant’s commitment to a research career.
Financial Review: If successful in the initial review, the application moves to the financial review stage. Here, the debt-to-income ratio and the applicant’s loan details are reviewed.
After the financial review, successful applicants are notified (usually around August), and payments are made directly to the loan servicer, not to the applicant.
Federal taxes on the payments are covered by the LRP through an additional supplement, but state taxes are not.
Tips & Tricks:
The LRP has a network of ambassadors including past recipients who are willing to offer guidance and advice. Use this resource to better understand the application process. https://www.lrp.nih.gov/ambassador-program
If your research fits multiple areas, consider applying under both a primary and secondary NIH institute. This gives you a better chance of getting funded, as the review might align more with one institute than another.
If you have already written a research grant or other funding applications, you can reuse these materials. The LRP program doesnt provide detailed scientific review, so if you can show that your proposal has already been favorably evaluated through NIH or other peer review committees, that is substantial advantage.
The financial review requires original loan documents, promissory notes, and statements. Start gathering this documentation early, as it can be time consuming. There is also a confirmation of salary information through Hopkins.
When your debt is nearly paid off, you can request that the LRP cover the remaining amount in one year (rather than providing small amounts over a two-year period), but you need to specify this request in your application.
Resources:
https://www.lrp.nih.gov/data-reports#DataReportsFindingsandAnalysesTile