The Essentials of Flatiron School’s New Income Share Agreement

As of January 1, 2021, Flatiron School no longer offers ISAs.

Flatiron School recently launched a new Income Share Agreement (ISA) program to its suite of financing options for in-person programs. Under this program, students don’t pay for their education until they leave the school and earn a minimum of $40,000 per year. We spoke with Annette Doskow, Vice President of Admissions, on the benefits for students, the job outcomes that support this initiative, and how the school’s career services team supports grads in the job hunt.

Flatiron School’s ISA Essentials:

• Payments begin six months after leaving the program  and only if a grad is making a minimum of $40,000 per year. If a student is making under the threshold, they aren’t required to make payments.
• Students pay 10% of their monthly income over a maximum of 48 monthly payments.
• Payments are capped at 1.5x of the ISA amount (plus the deposit)
• The ISA is waived after 8 years if a student hasn’t made all 48 payments.

Annette, what is your role at Flatiron School and how are you involved the new Income Share Agreement (ISA)?

I oversee Admissions for Flatiron School and my team works directly with students interested in enrolling in our programs. Flatiron School has ten campuses and offers three courses in Software Engineering, Data Science, and UX/UI Design - all programs are available in-person on campus as well as online. We now have this exciting new payment option and I’ve stayed close to it so my team can provide students with the most updated information as they go through the admissions process.

Flatiron School has a number of financing partnerships and initiatives - what was the motivation for adding an ISA?

We offer a few financing options:

• Deferred Tuition in our Brooklyn and London campuses
• Climb Credit + Ascent Funding

From the start, we’ve been committed to aligning our education to clear student outcomes, regularly releasing third-party audited outcomes reports. The launch of the Flatiron School Income Share Agreement allows us to bring that commitment to even more students. It makes the program financially accessible to more students – especially those who want to ensure their tuition is aligned with post-graduation income. We’re working with Vemo, a company that has partnered with many education institutions to service ISAs - they’re the experts in this area!

How does the ISA option differ from the deferred tuition option?

The deferred tuition program for our Brooklyn location is a very specific initiative for students making under a certain threshold of income before entering the program. In London, we created a deferred tuition model to meet the specific needs of the local education market. This ISA program is available to all students as long as they meet eligibility requirements.

Flatiron School has ten campuses now – which campuses is the ISA offered in?

We first launched the ISA with the Atlanta and Chicago campuses, and as of this week, now offer ISAs on our Denver campus as well. We are looking forward to making it available for more campuses as well as for the online program!

What are students’ biggest questions about the ISA program in the Atlanta, Chicago, and Denver campuses?

It’s all gone really smoothly, we’ve been able to talk with students on campus, on phone, in interviews, and during our enrollment process. An ISA makes sense to students. They’re excited about clear outcomes and the opportunity to align their payments to it. We’ve always been committed to student outcomes and our career services, and have been proud of the jobs our students get after graduation. We’ve also backed it up with independently audited job reports for the past several years - this new program just makes sense all around.

What requirements do students need to qualify for the ISA program?

The ISA is available for all students who meet certain eligibility requirements. The first step is being admitted to the school through our standard Flatiron School admissions process. Once you’re admitted to the program you can go through the ISA application process. Students have to be 18 years or older, US citizens or permanent residents and meet certain credit criteria.

What are the terms of the Flatiron School ISA?

Payments begin six months after leaving the program and only if a student is making a minimum of $40,000 per year. If a student is making under that salary threshold, they aren’t required to make payments during those months

• Students pay 10% of their monthly incomes over a maximum of 48 monthly payments
• Payments are capped at 1.5x of the ISA amount (plus the deposit)
• Tuition is waived after 8 years if a student hasn’t made all 48 payments.

Flatiron School is incentivized to get students jobs (exceeding $40,000/year). How will Flatiron School go about that?

This is in line with who we are – student outcomes are our North Star. Graduates of Flatiron School have always and will always get our full Career Services, a team dedicated to helping our grads find work, partnering with great companies, and evangelizing the Flatiron School graduate. Our Career Services team works 1-to-1 with students both before and after graduation to make sure they get the support they need throughout the job search. We also offer a money-back guarantee so if a student works with our Career Services team, follows our Career Services commitment, and doesn’t get a qualifying job offer, they can get their tuition refunded. We already have that in place because we feel so confident in our ability to help students get jobs - we believe in our students! They perform really well and are really competitive in the marketplace.

How do the ISA and money-back guarantee work together?

If someone qualifies for the money-back guarantee (see terms and conditions here), they would not be required to fulfill the tuition obligation in the ISA and would have their up-front deposit refunded.

What is your advice to a bootcamp student deciding which funding option is right for them?

We understand that every student’s situation is unique. We talk with them throughout the admissions process and encourage them to fully understand all the different payment options and available resources. We also encourage them to seek advice from friends and family, financial advisors, and others who personally know them so they can make the right choice. It’s a very personal decision - each student and their personal situation is unique, so we encourage them to do their research, understand their options, and make a decision that’s best for them.

Learn about Flatiron School’s bootcamp programs and their different payment options on the Flatiron School website and read student reviews on Course Report.