Traditionally, students who pursue a post-secondary degree fund some, if not most of their education, with loans.
However, in a sub-standard economy, loan repayment has recently become a major economic issue.
Students are finding that with fewer job opportunities available, paying back their school loans is much harder than they thought and at some times, almost impossible.
Neoga Leviner, general manager of Lumni Inc.
, an innovative loan lending organization, is providing some students with a different option.
By offering students loans of up to $6,000 a year to finance their schooling, Lumni Inc.
is "investing in talent.
" Lumni offers qualified students $6,000 per year and, unlike traditional loan repayments, most students end up re-paying only a small portion of the $6,000 per year borrowed.
Sound a little too good to be true, right? Not so, says Leviner, here's how it works: "The students are committing to repaying a fixed percentage of their income, which we agree with them at the time that they sign a contract with us, for a certain period of time.
We're typically talking about 120 months.
So that's 10 years after they graduate.
So that obligation is complete after those 10 years are up, regardless of how much or how little the student has paid up until that point.
" Additionally, if a person is fired, in a period of unemployment, in an extremely low-paying career or decides to go back to school or enter volunteer programs like the Peace Corps, no re-payments are required.
Lumni prides itself on the idea of "innovative higher education financing for a brighter future" and especially caters to students with low or very-low income backgrounds who may not have initially had the opportunity to attend post-secondary school or the means to take on any kind of debt.
But, where does this loan money come from? A variety of different sources, say Leviner, including: foundations, corporations and individuals who are passionate about investing in education.
The goal, she continues, "isn't to really solve the entire problem of education finance, it's to meet students in today's reality, where they do find themselves with this small gap and really just need someone that's willing to invest in their future.
"