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Study now, pay later

Find out about Income Share Agreement possibilities at CODE

Income Share Agreements

Income Share Agreements (ISAs) offer an innovative approach to financing education, allowing you to focus on your studies without the immediate burden of tuition fees - study now, pay later. How does it work?

  • Study now: Your financing partner for the ISA pays for all or for a part of your tuition, like a loan. Nothing else to worry about during studies, so that you can fully focus. We have two different ISA providers in our network: our trustees and Bcas . You can apply for an Income Share Agreement during your application for CODE and find out which option will work best for your case.
  • Pay later: With an ISA, you agree to pay a percentage of your future income for a set period after graduation. This means that students who have a high salary pay back more than students who earn less - which makes it a model of solidarity. If you earn less than a pre-defined amount, you don’t have to pay back anything during this time, which means financial security during times of hardship. The exact conditions depend on your contract with the financing partner.
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The Income Share Agreement made it possible for me to study without having to pay the tuition fees at the same time - which would not have been possible for me. Now, I am in a way better position and paying back a share of my income which will enable others to study at CODE.
Paulina Steffen, Design Alum

Financing your studies through an ISA

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Apply at CODE

Step 1

The condition to apply for an ISA is that you have gone through our admission process and received an offer to study at CODE. During the admission process, there will be many opportunities for you to get more information about Income Share Agreements and you can already inform us that you will be interested.

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Step 2

Apply for an ISA

Once you have gone through your application process at CODE, you will have the opportunity to apply for an ISA. As mentioned above, there are ISAs provided by Bcas and there are ISAs provided by our trustees. The principle is the same, only the amount that will be financed differs with the ISA provider. Bcas can finance up to 50% of the tuition fees, while the trustee ISAs offer a financing up to 100%. The availability depends on the number of students applying for ISAs.

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Step 3

Study!

If everything goes well and your application for the ISA went through, nothing is holding you back from the thing you came here for: Studying! Your payment partner will pay their share of the tuition to us and you will only have to pay the remaining amount - if there is any.

Example: If you signed a contract with Bcas, they will pay 50% of your tuition fee which means you will have to pay 575€ every month (instead of 1.150€).

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Step 4

Graduation

After finishing your studies, you don't need to worry about paying back just yet. You can focus on finding a job that you like and in which you can keep learning. If your contract is with Bcas, they will support you in finding a job, if necessary and if you want to.

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Step 5

Repayment period

Once you have found your job, the payback period will start. The special thing about ISAs is that they have a solidarity approach. You will pay back a certain share of your income for a pre-defined period of time (which depends on your specific contract) which means that people who have a high income will pay more than people with a lower income. Also, if you lose your job for whatever reason and you're unemployed, you don't have to pay back during this time. If you happen to be able to, you can also pay back everything at once.

Please note: The exact conditions depend on your individual contract that you can discuss in detail during the application process. If you have any questions about ISAs now, please don't hesitate to book a call with us.

Combining financing options

It is also possible to combine different financing options, like scholarships and ISAs.

  • Example: If you receive a scholarship for 50% of the tuition, you could apply for an ISA with Bcas which would cover the remaining 50% of the tuition cost. After your studies, you would only have to pay back the halve that was financed through Bcas.

We will be there to support you in finding your way to finance your studies.

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Get additional information

If you’re interested to learn more about CODE, fill out the form and we will send you additional information.
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For specific questions, you can also reach out to our admissions team via admissions@code.berlin.