Back a Boiler™ Program Overview
Backed by the Purdue Research Foundation (PRF), the Back a Boiler-ISA Fund is an innovative way to help make school more affordable for Purdue students. It's not a grant or a traditional loan — though students do make payments after graduating and securing employment. It's an opportunity to complete an education without worrying about interest rates or decades of payments.
Purdue's income share agreement (ISA) offers an alternative to private or Parent PLUS Loans to fund a Purdue education which can be paid back with greater flexibility and freedom.
Investing in Purdue students' success.
The Back a Boiler-ISA Fund is a potentially less expensive funding alternative to private and Parent PLUS loans for students who need additional funding to pay for their education. Students receive funding through the program and complete the agreement by paying back a set percentage of their post-education salary over a set number of years.
Back a Boiler – ISA Fund is available to Purdue’s rising Sophomore, Junior and Senior level students enrolled at Purdue West Lafayette campus for the fall, spring and summer academic sessions. Students, parents and/or guardians who may have questions about the program, are interested in learning more, or who wish to apply may go to purdue.vemo.com where they can set up a login account or call the Purdue Division of Financial Aid at 765-494-5050 or email BackaBoilerinfo@prf.org
Providing a potentially less expensive option.
An ISA is not a loan or other debt instrument. An ISA represents a student's obligation to make payments linked to a specific percentage of the student's earned income and does not give the Back a Boiler program any rights regarding his/her educational or employment pursuits.
*Information based on Back a Boiler Comparison Tool.
One of the ways that an ISA differs from a traditional loan is that students aren't accruing interest on the total amount funded, but most will pay back more than the principal borrowed.
For example, you're a rising senior History major with an ISA of $10,000. Based on your anticipated salary in that field upon graduation, you pay 3.97% of your $35,000 salary for 9 years. At the end of 9 years, you would have paid back $13,655, and fulfilled the terms of your ISA.
A traditional, private loan of $10,000 at 9% interest to a student with no cosigner would cost you $17,124 at the end of a typical 10-year term.*
How long does it take to pay back an ISA?
The standard payment period for the Back a Boiler-ISA Fund is about 10 years, making it shorter than most federal and private loan terms. In addition, all students receive a six-month grace period post-graduation before payments begin. Once a recipient makes successful payments for the prescribed term of the contract, no additional payments are required even if they have paid less than the amount of funding they received.
| Loan | ISA | Grant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No academic or grade requirement | ✔ | ✔ | |
| No full repayment requirement | ✔ | ✔ | |
| No long-term obligation with principal balance | ✔ | ✔ | |
| No interest accrued | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Payment terms | Variable, usually 10-20 years | 10 years or less | N/A |
Discuss the Back a Boiler-ISA Fund with your financial aid counselor and parents or guardians before deciding if an ISA is a possible funding solution for you. For more information, email BackaBoilerInfo@prf.org, or call 765-494-5050.
Your individual education financing plan should include an assessment of all of the options available to you based on your individual financial situation. The Back a Boiler Comparison Tool can be used to compare an ISA to some of the other options that may be available to you.
