Incoming freshmen at Eastern Michigan University for the fall 2026 semester will have an opportunity to take part in EMU’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program.
LRAP started two years ago, when there were FAFSA delays. The program was initiated to help fill in financial gaps and entice students to choose Eastern, said Katie Condon, vice president of enrollment management at the university.
Incoming EMU students who plan to get a degree in one of the programs that LRAP supports will be contacted through email with instructions on how to enroll in the program, Condon said. After the student graduates, gets a job and starts to pay back the student loans, the program will provide quarterly reimbursements for up to the whole payment. The amount depends on how much the loans were; the national average is $200 a month, Condon said.
The criteria for receiving the reimbursements include making less than $50,000 a year after graduation and working at least 30 hours a week, Condon said. However, the job does not have to be in the field of the degree. As long as it is not a gig job, such as driving for DoorDash or Uber, it is eligible for the program, Condon said.
Originally, the program was exclusively for teaching majors; however, the incoming freshmen for the fall 2026 semester will have an expanded list of majors that the program supports. Some of the new majors are anthropology, cinema studies, English, international affairs, philosophy, religious studies, social work and others. The full list of all included majors is available on the EMU Advantage website.
The expanded list of majors was decided by Condon and EMU Provost Rhonda Longworth. The choices were made based on data collected from perspective students on tours, ACT and SAT questionnaires and fields of interest on college applications, Condon said. Condon and Longworth decided on majors where there was interest but low enrollment for EMU, meaning that students going into those fields of study were choosing other universities. The starting salary for careers in those fields was also taken into consideration, Condon said.
“We’re hoping to maintain enrollment in our programs as a result,” Condon said about the expanded list of majors.
The funding for LRAP comes from EMU’s general fund, just like scholarships. Eastern started the program by partnering with Ardeo Education Solutions, formerly the LRAP Association. The company was founded by Peter Samuelson, who graduated from Yale Law School and took part in its loan assistance program. The company was established in 2008 to assist students in their pursuit of higher education. Ardeo has partnered with over 200 colleges and universities across the country. The company has since changed its name and website from My LRAP to Ardeo. More information can be found on Ardeo’s new website.
Although the addition of more majors to the program has garnered some interest, the focus remains on education, Condon said, because EMU started as a teaching college and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants more educators in Michigan. 48 incoming students already plan to participate in the program in the fall, 80% of whom plan to be education majors, Condon said.
The goal is to support students' needs and keep enrollment high at Eastern, Condon said.
