NIH Loan Repayment Program

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Rehab_Scientist said:
Hahahaha, fingers crossed that it was an intern's mistake! It is nice to know that there are others in the same boat. I'll post when I hear something.
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for what it's worth, I can't even log into my account anymore....everything is just going backwards....
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Interesting, I can still log in, but no new news, still says "selected" . Ugh, this is an emotional rollercoaster ha
 
NINDS LRP Applicant said:
For people's whose status changed to submitted - did you eventually get an email saying you did not receive an award? In these cases, has anyone's Program Officer been helpful in providing ways to improve your application for the next cycle?
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I emailed the NIDA LRP program officer yesterday asking if I could get feedback on my application (assuming that it wasn't funded if it switched back to "submitted") and all they said was "Official notifications of awards are still being processed, so I’d like to delay until you are contacted by the NIH LRP office." It's so frustrating!

When my application got selected for financial review, all my mentors (3 different people) and at least 3 colleagues who'd gotten the LRP in the past said that if you get selected for review you can pretty much assume you got funded but that doesn't seem to be the reality. I don't know what I'm doing wrong!
 
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dbtphd said:
for what it's worth, I can't even log into my account anymore....everything is just going backwards....
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I am losing hope that we will hear anything today...I guess at least I havent seen any news that others have gotten an award through the NIA yet
 
chubbadub said:
Status switched from selected to funded this morning! First time applicant, basic science NIBIB.

Anyone know about the implications with loan IBR? Will my payments all of a sudden go up next year or is there a way around it by having them calculate based on my monthly income (and not the yearly "income" that goes up from the lump sum loan payment). I think I saw that they pay the taxes to the IRS thank god.
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I had this issue. Your federal income tax return, which includes the lump sum loan payment, will determine your monthly payments. I have not tried to have them calculate my IBR based on my monthly income, so I don't know how successful it is.

Depending on how much your award is, the point may be moot. My payments from the NIH LRP are higher than what my monthly repayments would be (even with the higher annual incmoe), and it pushes my "next payment due date" to later dates. Bottom line, I haven't needed to make any payments since starting the LRP.

However, I think that these payments from NIH LRP do NOT qualify as qualifying payments for IBR loan forgiveness. I've heard some people try to also make "qualifying" payments in addition to the NIH LRP payments, but am not sure whether or how this approach works.

Good luck!
 
MPW9218 said:
I emailed the NIDA LRP program officer yesterday asking if I could get feedback on my application (assuming that it wasn't funded if it switched back to "submitted") and all they said was "Official notifications of awards are still being processed, so I’d like to delay until you are contacted by the NIH LRP office." It's so frustrating!

When my application got selected for financial review, all my mentors (3 different people) and at least 3 colleagues who'd gotten the LRP in the past said that if you get selected for review you can pretty much assume you got funded but that doesn't seem to be the reality. I don't know what I'm doing wrong!
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FWIW I am in a very similar circumstance as you - 3rd time applicant, NIDA, went from submitted to selected back to submitted this week, same advice from mentors and peers, no word, trying to wait patiently. Good luck!
 
akm2020 said:
FWIW I am in a very similar circumstance as you - 3rd time applicant, NIDA, went from submitted to selected back to submitted this week, same advice from mentors and peers, no word, trying to wait patiently. Good luck!
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Good luck to you, too!
 
Any updates on those who had the temporary switches? I was selected for financial review but haven't had any change in my status. I am now worried that this means I won't be funded.
 
InternHopeful2015 said:
Any updates on those who had the temporary switches? I was selected for financial review but haven't had any change in my status. I am now worried that this means I won't be funded.
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I have not have any changes, mine still has been switched back to “selected”. I’m getting nervous, would be curious to hear if anyone has had any success. Again mine is clinical research NIA.
 
Neuro_researcher_NYC said:
I have not have any changes, mine still has been switched back to “selected”. I’m getting nervous, would be curious to hear if anyone has had any success. Again mine is clinical research NIA.
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No word on mine either. All that said, I haven't heard of any NIA notices going out...so who knows...my nervousness is slowly morphing to just annoyed...
 
dbtphd said:
No word on mine either. All that said, I haven't heard of any NIA notices going out...so who knows...my nervousness is slowly morphing to just annoyed...
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Agreed, I haven’t heard of any NIA notices either. I as well am getting annoyed. This is how the NIH works. I’m sure it it works out and we get it all of this will be worth it ha
 
I've been following this thread and waiting... I just checked my status and it shows as funded for NIA but don't want to get my hopes based on people's switching back. My fingers are crossed that it's true!
 
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Mine has now flipped back to funded....but I am not gonna celebrate until I get the actual email confirming it. Learned my lesson about that last week.
 
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MPW9218 said:
I emailed the NIDA LRP program officer yesterday asking if I could get feedback on my application (assuming that it wasn't funded if it switched back to "submitted") and all they said was "Official notifications of awards are still being processed, so I’d like to delay until you are contacted by the NIH LRP office." It's so frustrating!

When my application got selected for financial review, all my mentors (3 different people) and at least 3 colleagues who'd gotten the LRP in the past said that if you get selected for review you can pretty much assume you got funded but that doesn't seem to be the reality. I don't know what I'm doing wrong!
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my mentors were also pretty sure that I got it too since i was selected for review. But based on previous' years posts, i wasnt so sure. And i was right, my application switched back to submitted about 2 weeks ago. I emailed the NICHD LRP PO who said that unfortunately I was not going to get funding.. We arranged for phone call so he could give me feedback from the reviewers. I was so devastated, I was still hoping that financial review meant good news....oh well...and I still have not received an official letter from the LRP though!
 
That's good that people changed back to funded... Maybe that means NIA has finalized these decisions. I did notice that last year they notified people this same time. Best wishes to everyone!
 
Has anyone heard anything from NIMHD (including that their application was reviewed)?
 
My NIMHD application (New Award) just switched to funded...no email yet but I believe this change was made today.
 
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NINDS LRP Applicant said:
Just checking in to see if you have heard any official word from NIDA after having your status switch back to submitted?
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No, nothing from NIDA yet. My application still says "submitted", and even though it seems clear that it wasn't funded the program officer will not provide feedback until they send out official notifications. I will definitely keep you posted!
 
Coucou1981 said:
my mentors were also pretty sure that I got it too since i was selected for review. But based on previous' years posts, i wasnt so sure. And i was right, my application switched back to submitted about 2 weeks ago. I emailed the NICHD LRP PO who said that unfortunately I was not going to get funding.. We arranged for phone call so he could give me feedback from the reviewers. I was so devastated, I was still hoping that financial review meant good news....oh well...and I still have not received an official letter from the LRP though!
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No official email for me, either, and I hear you - I am so devastated, too!
 
phd1173 said:
My NIMHD application (New Award) just switched to funded...no email yet but I believe this change was made today.
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OK. Then this means I was not funded, then. I still haven't received word about it being selected for review. Thank you for the update.
 
almost_there said:
I had this issue. Your federal income tax return, which includes the lump sum loan payment, will determine your monthly payments. I have not tried to have them calculate my IBR based on my monthly income, so I don't know how successful it is.

Depending on how much your award is, the point may be moot. My payments from the NIH LRP are higher than what my monthly repayments would be (even with the higher annual incmoe), and it pushes my "next payment due date" to later dates. Bottom line, I haven't needed to make any payments since starting the LRP.

However, I think that these payments from NIH LRP do NOT qualify as qualifying payments for IBR loan forgiveness. I've heard some people try to also make "qualifying" payments in addition to the NIH LRP payments, but am not sure whether or how this approach works.

Good luck!
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So you're saying that if I'm currently doing IBR with hopes of PSLF(a girl can dream), these NIH LRP quarterly lump sum payments count as my monthly IBR so I technically pay zero monthly if I wanted? I'm going to look into the qualifying payments deal, maybe white coat investor may have an idea. Thanks for the info!
 
Rehab_Scientist said:
Did anyone get a confirmation email yet? My status still says funded, but no email.
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Nope. My friend got hers funded from NIMH--it changed to "funded" and then got email notification approximately 48 hours later.
 
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Congratulations to all of the awardees! Waiting on what's likely to by my third rejection, but am so grateful to hear of folks who have persisted and been successful eventually. My mentors had a similar LRP experience and are now extremely well-funded by NIH, later in their careers, so we should absolutely not give up.

Question about strategy for payments while continuing to apply - since the LRP will only pay the principal, does this mean they'll only pay 1/4 per year of the original loan amount? I want to make sure I'm strategizing correctly, assuming I eventually land this award, that I should be aiming to pay off the interest that's accrued but not necessarily any more than that.
 
I woke up to my award email notice from NIA LRP this morning. So happy! Good luck to everyone & if you don't get it this year - persist!
 
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EPPPb42020 said:
I woke up to my award email notice from NIA LRP this morning. So happy! Good luck to everyone & if you don't get it this year - persist!
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Congratulations! I also received a confirmation of award from NIA. Best of luck to others still waiting.
 
new awards now are 50k. Amazing bump for the next cycle. No one knows if they will honor that amount for this year's awardees ie 18-19 cycle?
 
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hi all - first thanks to everyone on this community board that helped me finally get my award last year! It has been a total game changer for our household and budget and really allows us to continue doing great research.

My award will expire in summer of 2020 but of course I still have tons of eligible debt. Does anyone know if I can apply for a renewal loan now or do I have to wait until the loan has completely ended? the website isn't too helpful... Thanks! Matt
 
I'm a new awardee and last month my payment did not go out because of "fiscal year" issues and the portal has Nov as a projected payment date but it's already November 6th and I have not yet received a payment verification. Does anyone know if there is a date that payments are typically sent out (e.g, around the 15th)? Thanks!
 
Nope, in the past year I've gotten them at all times of the month, sometimes near the last possible day. I haven't gotten my November disbursement yet either, but wouldn't worry til Dec.
 
hdubb said:
Nope, in the past year I've gotten them at all times of the month, sometimes near the last possible day. I haven't gotten my November disbursement yet either, but wouldn't worry til Dec.
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Thanks - this is helpful for planning monthly loan payments that I still have to make:(
 
Does anyone have experience with switching jobs in the middle of a NIH LRP award? I had contacted the LRP call center multiple times to make sure that I would be fine to take a new job and they said it was no problem and that I just would no longer receive payments. But when I called today to figure out how to cancel, they said I am in breach of contract and I will need to fill out a form to figure out if I will owe them penalties. The penalties are HUGE! This will break me and my family if we have to pay penalties... I only took a new job because I couldn't support my family on a postdoc salary.
 
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eyeresearcher said:
Does anyone have experience with switching jobs in the middle of a NIH LRP award? I had contacted the LRP call center multiple times to make sure that I would be fine to take a new job and they said it was no problem and that I just would no longer receive payments. But when I called today to figure out how to cancel, they said I am in breach of contract and I will need to fill out a form to figure out if I will owe them penalties. The penalties are HUGE! This will break me and my family if we have to pay penalties... I only took a new job because I couldn't support my family on a postdoc salary.
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I'm sorry to hear you are in this situation. Did you switch to a job with a nonprofit or a for-profit organization? I was laid off in the middle of my NIH LRP award and had to take a position at a for-profit organization due to financial and geographic reasons related to my partner's medical condition. I requested and received a termination of the award without breach of contract by providing documentation (medical records, letter of termination from my employer, list of jobs I applied to in nonprofit or public organizations). It did take some time though, and the program staff were not responsive to my emails for awhile, which was stressful. I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have if I can be helpful.
 
starthrower2 said:
I'm sorry to hear you are in this situation. Did you switch to a job with a nonprofit or a for-profit organization? I was laid off in the middle of my NIH LRP award and had to take a position at a for-profit organization due to financial and geographic reasons related to my partner's medical condition. I requested and received a termination of the award without breach of contract by providing documentation (medical records, letter of termination from my employer, list of jobs I applied to in nonprofit or public organizations). It did take some time though, and the program staff were not responsive to my emails for awhile, which was stressful. I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have if I can be helpful.
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Thanks for the response and sorry to hear about your situation. I am at a for-profit organization that works on NIH grants (I will be applying for an R01 in the summer) and on DoD contracts. I think this will help. I was reading the purpose of the LRPs and it is considered an investment for the NIH to keep good scientists performing NIH research. I was not laid off, but my family was struggling financially (I have 4 children and my wife doesn't work) so I am hoping that is considered circumstances beyond my control. When looking around I came across this 42 CFR § 68.14 - Under what circumstances can the service or payment obligation be canceled, waived, or suspended? . It is Cornell's Legal Information Institute and it describes reasons and factors the NIH considers when they are determining if they will waive service and payment obligations. Hopefully it plays out well. I emailed the LRP last week and I'm waiting for them to respond with the form (I've called and apparently they are backed up right now but my email is in their system). About how long did the process take for you? Also, what position were you laid off from? I was a postdoc, aren't we expected to move onto the next job?
 
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I also moved to a for-profit organization that works on NIH (SBIR) grants, and I think that helped my case. Make sure you include that in your communication with LRP. I was laid off from a position as a research scientist in a nonprofit organization in 2018. I worked as director of grants and research at a small business for about a year and am now an assistant professor, so I just applied for an LRP renewal. Hopefully the previous termination won't hurt my chances. I guess as a postdoc they expect you to move to an instructor or assistant professor position at a university rather than a for-profit.

As far as timeline, I was told on May 10 that the layoffs would take place at the end of June. I emailed LRP on May 13. They responded on May 14 to explain the change of institution possibility (if I got another qualifying job), the option of termination without penalty, etc. On July 17 I notified LRP I was unable to find a new qualifying position. They responded on September 12 instructing me to draft a letter outlining the factors preventing me from fulfilling my contract and providing information on all steps I took to secure qualified research including grants applied for and research positions applied for and any hardships fulfilling the contract would cause. My supervisor sent a separate email concurring and giving additional information. I sent them the information on September 21. As of November 28 my LRP award page said the contract was still being processed. On January 2 the portal showed my contract was ended. I emailed to ask about it and received a response on January 4 that my termination without penalty was approved.

Good luck.
 
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Does anyone know what is happening to NIH grants (notably, LRP) during this health crisis? I know they're extending deadlines for grants that aren't in yet but I didn't know if pending grants will still be reviewed or what was happening with that. TIA! Wash your hands! :)
 
starthrower2 said:
I also moved to a for-profit organization that works on NIH (SBIR) grants, and I think that helped my case. Make sure you include that in your communication with LRP. I was laid off from a position as a research scientist in a nonprofit organization in 2018. I worked as director of grants and research at a small business for about a year and am now an assistant professor, so I just applied for an LRP renewal. Hopefully the previous termination won't hurt my chances. I guess as a postdoc they expect you to move to an instructor or assistant professor position at a university rather than a for-profit.

As far as timeline, I was told on May 10 that the layoffs would take place at the end of June. I emailed LRP on May 13. They responded on May 14 to explain the change of institution possibility (if I got another qualifying job), the option of termination without penalty, etc. On July 17 I notified LRP I was unable to find a new qualifying position. They responded on September 12 instructing me to draft a letter outlining the factors preventing me from fulfilling my contract and providing information on all steps I took to secure qualified research including grants applied for and research positions applied for and any hardships fulfilling the contract would cause. My supervisor sent a separate email concurring and giving additional information. I sent them the information on September 21. As of November 28 my LRP award page said the contract was still being processed. On January 2 the portal showed my contract was ended. I emailed to ask about it and received a response on January 4 that my termination without penalty was approved.

Good luck.
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FYI - I was able to get terminate my LRP without penalty. They even prorated my last payment, which I did not expect! Thanks for sharing information and for your support. It was more helpful than you know.
 
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I review for NIH (not LRPs, but grants). We're still reviewing on our normal date. But, we're doing the whole review via zoom.
 
Are people starting to hear back about the 2020 cycle? On 4/17 I got the financial review email for a NIMH (mental health, not health disparities) Pediatric Research Renewal. From reading past posts it looks like renewals get notified earlier--so all those waiting for first time award responses, don't worry yet.

Just wondering if anyone else is hearing anything?
 
I haven't heard anything (not even financial review). NIAAA - CR (renewal)
 
I also haven't heard anything from NCATS clinical research renewal.
 
Just received notice of financial review from NIAMS, first-time renewal.
 
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