HU, LRAP Foundation partner to increase awareness of loan repayment program

HUNTINGTON, Ind. Huntington University and the LRAP Foundation are partnering together to give more students the dream of a college education.

Each year, Huntington provides the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) to all incoming freshmen free of charge. Through the program, graduates are reimbursed their loans, either in part or in whole, based on their incomes.

To increase awareness of the program, the LRAP Foundation is offering two "Free to Dream" LRAP awards to any student in the region. With these awards, students can attend any college in the country without the fear of debt.

"We are passionate about the life-changing power of higher education. Too many students do not attend their first-choice college or university because they feel that they just cannot afford it," said Ruthie Wellhausen, vice president of client service at the LRAP Foundation. "With our new 'Free to Dream' program, we are letting students know that they have options."

Huntington University has offering the LRAP to students for five years, and was the first in the country to offer the program to all incoming freshmen.

"In this tough economy, we want to remove the fear of debt from all students," said Jeff Berggren, senior vice president for enrollment management and marketing. "We want students and families to know that a high-quality, Christ-centered education might be much more affordable than they had previously thought."

Over the next three weeks, representatives from the LRAP Foundation will visit 73 schools in Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio to introduce the "Free to Dream" LRAP Award. An awards ceremony will be held at Huntington University in late April to present the awards to the winning students.

For more information about "Free to Dream," visit www.myLRAP.org/Free-to-Dream. And for more information about Huntington University's LRAP program, visit www.huntington.edu/LRAP.