Financial Aid for JD Alumni

Eligible alumni:

• Have graduated from the JD Program at the University of Toronto within the last 10 years, and been out of school for at least a year. For example, if you are graduating in 2026, you are eligible to apply to PDRAP in 2027 until 2036.
• Have Government of Canada loans and/or Professional Line of Credit loans that were authorized by the Financial Aid program.
• Be employed full-time, seeking full-time employment, or able to demonstrate extenuating circumstances preventing you from full-time employment (e.g. health or disability-related issues, caring for dependents, or continuing full-time studies after law school).
• Not be in default on any loan payments and must have an acceptable credit rating (at least 600).
• Have applied to theRepayment Assistance Plan program.
   

• Government of Canada loans taken out during your JD program: You can identify these loans by visiting theNational Student Loans Services Center's websiteand logging into your account. The account will show a history of your loan payments and indicate which loans were incurred while enrolled in the JD program. You will need to submit a copy of this history with your PDRAP application to verify eligible loan portions.
• Authorized Professional Student Line of Credit amounts: The Financial Aid Office would have informed you of the authorized amounts eligible for interest reimbursement. The amounts actually borrowed in the authorized year are eligible for the PDRAP program. If you were not part of the Financial Aid program, you can only apply for reimbursement on your Government of Canada loans. If you are unsure of your authorized Line of Credit amount, please reach out to the Financial Aid Office.
• The Financial Aid Office reimburses eligible payments that are:
  • For a term of 10 years or more (accelerated payments are not eligible for reimbursement).
  • At interest rates offered by preferred providers.
• You are required to take advantage of the RAP program, if eligible.
• During the first 24 months after articling only interest payments on your Authorized Lines of Credit will be considered for reimbursement.

• Starting in May 2025, PDRAP benefits will be issued based on actual earnings and debt payments, NOT projected earnings and payments as has been the case in past years. For the upcoming year, new applicants to the program who are not recent graduates will have their benefits based on 2025 income and debt payments. Applicants who graduated in 2025 will have benefits based on projected income for 2026, adjusted the following year based on actuals.
• The Basic Income Level is set each year and adjusted for inflation. For 2024 income, the level is $72,760. For 2025 income the level will be posted in May, 2026.
• Additional expenses (listed below) are considered, and your income is adjusted accordingly.
• If your actual income (from the prior year's Notice of Assessment, line 15000) is higher than your Adjusted Basic Income, you are expected to contribute 30% of the difference toward your debt obligations.

Adjustments to the Basic Income Level

Dependents

• Dependents include elderly parents or children under the age of 18 whom you support.
• Payments for child care expenses can be deducted from the lower income in your household (yours or your partner’s). However, childcare expenses cannot be paid to the parent or guardian of the child.
• You are allowed an additional $5,000 for each eligible dependent, which increases your Basic Income Level.

Pre-Law Loans

• If you have pre-law loans, your annual payments (monthly payments times 12) will be added to the Basic Income Level, up to a maximum of $4,000 per year.

Additional Deductions

• Professional fees, such as bar admission expenses, if they are not covered or reimbursed by your employer.
• Law Society fees, if not covered by your employer.

Spouse/Partner's Income

• If you are married or have a common-law partner, you will need to submit your partner’s income tax information, which will be included in calculating the Basic Income Level.
• If your spouse's income is lower than yours, it will not be considered.
• If your partner/spouse earns more than you, their eligible loans (such as annual payments on government loans) will be deducted from their income, and the two incomes will be averaged.

• Only loans incurred during law school are eligible for the Debt Repayment Assistance Program (PDRAP).
• There are two eligible sources of loans for PDRAP consideration: Government aid loans and Professional Line of Credit loans.

Obtaining Your Eligible Loans Information

• You can download information regarding your student loan disbursement throughout your education career from the National Student Loans Service Center and/or your provincial student loan portal.
• The authorized amount for your Professional Line of Credit is provided by the Financial Aid Office each year if you are in the Financial Aid program. If you don’t have this information, contact the Financial Aid Office to obtain your eligible amount.

Calculating Your Eligible Loans Information
To calculate the eligible portion of your Government Loans: 

1. Add up the loans disbursed before and after law school, if any (e.g., $15,000).
2. Add up the loans disbursed during law school—these are the only loans eligible for PDRAP (e.g., $25,000).
3. Obtain your total monthly loan payment (e.g., $450).
4. Prorate your law school loans over your total loans and multiply by your monthly loan payment. This gives you the eligible monthly payment for PDRAP ($25,000/($15,000 + $25,000) * $450 = $281.25). Multiply by 12 to get your annual eligible loan portion.

To calculate the eligible portion of your Professional Line of Credit Loans:

• During articling and the first two years, only interest is charged on your Professional Line of Credit (PLOC).
• To calculate the interest-only portion, multiply the lesser of your balance (from your bank statement) or your authorized Line of Credit amount by the current interest rate. This gives you your annual eligible loan portion.
• Once your PLOC is converted to a loan, your bank will provide you with the statement of the total loan, which may be less than, equal to, or greater than the amount authorized by the Financial Aid Program.
• If your loan is less than or equal to the authorized amount, your entire monthly payment is eligible for PDRAP. Multiply by 12 to get the annual amount.
• If your loan is greater than the authorized amount, prorate your monthly payment: Authorized loan amount / Actual loan amount * Minimum monthly payment = Authorized monthly payment for PDRAP.

Finally, add the eligible portion of your Government loan and your Professional Line of Credit loan to get the total eligible debt amount. Multiply by 12 if you’re working with monthly figures to get the annual amount.

• Loan repayments that have been suspended (e.g., government loans suspended when you return to full-time studies) are not eligible.
• You must be up-to-date on your loan repayments as required by the government and/or the bank. Default or delinquency will disqualify you from the PDRAP program.
• You must not have any outstanding balances owed to the University of Toronto or Jackman Law.
• Pre-law or post-law school loans are not eligible.
• Loans that exceed the authorized Line of Credit amounts are not eligible.