Tech Elevator’s Income Share Agreement: Everything You Need to Know

Table of Contents

• Meet the Expert: Kalyn Breneman, Tech Elevator Admissions Lead
• Tech Elevator’s ISA
• Terms of the Tech Elevator ISA
• Who should use the Tech Elevator ISA?

Since 2015, Tech Elevator has been teaching the tech skills that students need to make a career change into software engineering. Now, Tech Elevator has added an Income Share Agreement (ISA) to their list of financing options! We caught up with Admissions Lead, Kalyn Breneman about Tech Elevator’s ISA program to find out more about ISA eligibility requirements, the actual ISA terms students are held to, plus the kinds of jobs and salaries Tech Elevator students can expect to land after graduation.

Meet the Expert: Kalyn Breneman, Tech Elevator Admissions Lead

• Kalyn is currently the Admissions Lead for Tech Elevator, managing the Admissions team across all Tech Elevator campuses and National Live Remote programs. 
• She is passionate about making sure that systems, interfaces, and the student experience best represent Tech Elevator’s culture of elevating people, companies & communities. 
• Outside of the office, Kalyn is heavily involved in the community with volunteer projects and women in technology organizations. Kalyn spends any extra free time exploring Ohio with her family and dragging her dog, Doug, behind her on hikes!

Tech Elevator’s ISA

Why has Tech Elevator decided to offer an Income Share Agreement?

At Tech Elevator, we’ve always put our students first and we have been watching closely as the ISA funding model has become more prevalent. While we believe in the promise of ISAs, we also have been cautious and diligent about offering them as a funding option in order to ensure that if and when we did offer them, they would be reflective of the student-first approach we take in everything we do. We are adding an ISA option because, as part of the Stride family of companies, we are now in a position to offer them directly to students with some of the most student-friendly terms in the industry. For us, doing right by our students and getting ISAs right has been worth the wait.

What sets Tech Elevator’s ISA program apart?

Tech Elevator’s ISA program is different from others in that we are offering it directly to students. This allows for our ISA to have some of the most student-friendly terms in the industry. The 1.5x cap is among the lowest offered in the industry, which means the total amount owed after the program is lower than a lot of other programs out there. With our ISA, students have more flexibility allowing them to focus on really dedicating themselves to their education and job search first.

Terms of the Tech Elevator ISA

What are the eligibility requirements to get a Tech Elevator ISA?

Students will need to be enrolled in a Tech Elevator cohort, at least 18 years old, and a US citizen. Students can use the ISA towards any of our campus or online programs. FICO scores are not a factor, but things like defaults or bankruptcies are reviewed.

What are the actual terms of Tech Elevator’s ISA?

Our ISA terms speak to our commitment to quality and the transparency of our industry-leading outcomes:

• After a $2,000 deposit, defer the rest of your tuition until you're making at least $40k/year.
• Pay monthly installments at 10% of your monthly income once you're above the threshold.
• Pay no more than 48 monthly payments when you borrow the maximum amount (or stop sooner if you hit the cap).
• Defer all or some of your tuition and never pay back more than 1.5x what you defer.
• If you're not earning at least $40k, payments on your ISA pause and no interest accrues.

Is the bootcamp admissions process different for someone applying for the ISA than someone paying their tuition upfront?

No. Students must already be accepted and enrolled in Tech Elevator to be eligible for our ISA. After they enroll, they’ll be able to apply for the ISA, financing, qualifying scholarships, workforce grants, or other applicable funding sources.

What kinds of jobs and salaries can Tech Elevator ISA students expect? 

Our median graduate salary is $60,000 and on average, our graduates make $24,000 more per year than they were making in their previous role. Types of jobs include software developer, software engineer, and analyst.

Do Tech Elevator’s career coaches help students with salary and benefits negotiation?

Yes, our career readiness Pathway Program™ provides over 30 career sessions that prepare students for a full transition into a new tech career during the bootcamp and after graduation. This includes support with branding, resumes, interviews, networking, job offers, salary/benefits negotiation and more. 

What happens if a student isn’t able to find a job or isn’t able to land a job that pays over $40K/year?

Tech Elevator has a 90% job placement rate so there’s a high chance that students will find a job if they’re focused in the program — and with our help! In terms of the ISA, all students are granted a 3-month grace period after graduation as they search for employment. Before they get a job making $40k/year, they will not owe any ISA payments and no interest accrues. 

Who should use the Tech Elevator ISA?

Is there an ideal student for Tech Elevator’s ISA?

The ISA joins existing funding sources like loans through our lending partners Sallie Mae and Ascent, workforce grant dollars, and scholarships. Everyone’s situation is different, so each person will have to decide what is right for them, but it has always been important to us to provide a variety of options to pay for Tech Elevator! We highly recommend that all students compare their options and decide what’s going to be the best fit for them.

Can the ISA be combined with other financing? 

Yes, students can choose to combine financing with other grants and/or scholarships. A student can use our ISA to pay partial tuition with as little as $5,000. We definitely encourage students to explore all options before making a decision, and if multiple options are a fit, then great. 

What is your advice for students choosing between an ISA and a loan?

Everyone’s situation is different, so we really recommend that our students take a look at all of their options and choose which one will work the best for them! (We’ve done a thorough comparison between our ISA and a loan for those who are new to the ISA model!) It’s always been really important to us to provide a variety of options to make the program more accessible and we feel like the ISA can be a good option for those that are interested. 

Find out more and read Tech Elevator's reviews on Course Report. This article was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with Tech Elevator.