Dear Pitt Senior:

On Oct. 8, the University of Pittsburgh will open an application period for a new student debt relief program called Panthers Forward. I am reaching out to you today because we believe that you may be eligible to apply.

If you are accepted into the program, Panthers Forward will offset up to $5,000 of your eligible federal student loan balance, meaning you won’t have to repay this portion to your lender.

Instead, you will be asked to contribute to Panthers Forward once you graduate. These contributions aren’t required, but they are vital. By participating, you will be “paying it forward” to support other Pitt students who are following in your path.

Panthers Forward is also meant to be a powerful platform for linking Pitt students with Pitt alumni. If accepted into the program, you will gain access to an exclusive group of alumni ambassadors who are dedicated to your professional success. And, upon graduation, you can opt to “pay it forward” again by donating your time and professional expertise to the newest members of the Panthers Forward network.

In the program’s first year, we can accommodate a finite number of full-time students on our Pittsburgh campus who will graduate in spring 2019. Eligible participants must have taken out an unsubsidized or subsidized federal loan to finance their senior year at Pitt, and they must submit a short application to be considered for this opportunity.

Because we know that you may have questions about this new program, we’ve created a website to introduce Panthers Forward in greater detail. And on Monday, Oct. 8, we plan to post the application to the program on this same website, should you be interested in applying.

In the meantime, please consider checking out the Panthers Forward website. I am extremely excited about this new opportunity, and I hope that you are, too.

Sincerely,

Patrick Gallagher

P.S. We’ve sent a similar letter home to parents and guardians, in hopes that your family will also consider learning more about Panthers Forward.