An ISA is a legal contract between a student and Clarusway. ISAs are not a form of debt, nor are they a loan. They have no interest rate or principal balance. The ISA contract outlines that in exchange for the provision of an education to a student, said student agrees to pay a fixed percentage of their income for a fixed duration of time. Payment occurs when the student is employed and earning above a predetermined minimum salary. ISA contracts have Payment Caps that clearly indicate the most a student would pay given the terms of their ISA contract.
Leif is our school’s ISA Program Manager. You will make an account on Leif’s platform to apply for your ISA, review and sign your contract, and eventually report income and make payments. Read more details…
Your school will guide you to a secure application page tied to the specific program you are looking to attend. The application is all online and typically takes less than 5 minutes to complete and applying will not affect your credit score.
ISA’s are designed to increase access to quality education. Consult with your school as to whether ISAs are a fit for you given their approval parameters. A co-signer is not needed.
Once you complete the program, Leif will work with you to verify your income. Once you are earning above the Minimum Income Threshold, you will make monthly payments of 9.9% of your pre-tax monthly income through the Leif portal.
Because ISAs are not traditional debt, there is no set interest rate or accrued interest.
You will stop making payments once you reach the sooner of 24 Qualified Payment Months or when you hit the Payment Cap. You will never pay more than the Payment Cap and if you don’t earn $40K or above, your ISA will be forgiven after 5 years even though you paid nothing at all.
If you lose your job or earn below the Minimum Income Threshold, you will be placed into the Deferment Period and no payments will be due again until you are earning above the Minimum Income Threshold again.
