Avenify: Income Share Agreement Review

Avenify offers income share agreements to students pursuing nursing degrees who are within 12 months of graduation.
Ryan Lane
Dec 3, 2020

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Our Take

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

The bottom line:

Avenify offers income share agreements to nursing students. The maximum funding amount is $15,000, and you must be within 12 months of graduation to qualify. That makes an Avenify ISA a good option if you need a little extra money to finish your degree and would pay less overall than with a private student loan, or if you can’t qualify for a loan.

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Full Review

Avenify Income Share Agreement
Avenify Income Share Agreement
Min. credit score
None

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Periods of unemployment count toward your payment total.

  • Lending decisions are not based on your credit score.

  • You receive a discount for paying off your ISA early.

Cons

  • Funding is available only to nursing students.

  • Nursing certificate programs currently aren’t eligible.

  • You must be within 12 months of graduation to qualify.

Full Review

Avenify offered its first income share agreements, or ISAs, in 2019. That funding was originally open to college students no matter their major. Avenify currently issues ISAs to nursing students only.

You can receive up to $15,000 from Avenify, which is less than some other private ISAs. You must also be within 12 months of graduation to qualify. That makes Avenify a good option if you need a little extra funding to complete your nursing degree.

ISAs are repaid as a percentage of post-graduate income. Avenify says its average income share is 3.99%, but rates have gone as high as 7.5% — which can make a big difference in the total repaid.

For example, say you plan to become a registered nurse and will earn $80,000, the average salary for RNs. If you took out a $15,000 ISA with an income share of 3.99%, you would repay $16,611 over five years (assuming annual salary increases of 2%). That would be similar to repaying a loan with a 2.15% interest rate, which is lower than private lenders offer.

But if your income share was 7.5%, you would repay $31,224 over that same period — the equivalent of a student loan with a far higher-than-average interest rate of 21.63%

How much you’ll pay depends on your ISA’s specific terms and your post-graduation income. Compare potential ISA costs with private loan offers to get the best deal possible.

Exhaust federal nursing loans before turning to any alternative funding option, especially if you plan to pursue a loan forgiveness program for nurses, like Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Avenify Income Share Agreements at a Glance

  • Income shares range from 1.5% to 7.5%, with an average of 3.99%.

  • Payments aren’t due if you earn less than $20,000.

  • Total payments are capped at 2.5 times the amount borrowed.

How Avenify could improve

Like other five-star lenders, Avenify isn’t perfect. It could improve by:

  • Providing funding for students pursuing nursing certificates.

  • Increasing the maximum amount students can receive.

  • Offering formal job placement services to students.

Estimate the cost of an income share agreement

Avenify income share agreement details

Rates, fees and terms

  • Income share rates: Typically, 1.5% to 7.5% per contract; lifetime maximum: 15%.

  • Soft credit check to qualify: No; credit check is not required.

  • Repayment term: 5 years, but can extend up to 10 years total via deferment.

  • Amounts: $1,000 to $15,000.

  • Payment cap: 2.5 times amount borrowed.

  • Application or origination fee: No.

  • Prepayment discount: Yes; savings depend on how long you’ve been in repayment.

  • Late fees: Yes; $5 or 5% of the payment amount due, whichever is less, if you don’t make a payment within five days of the due date.

Compare Avenify’s costs with those for other financing options, like private student loans. To see what ISA terms Stride Funding will offer you, apply on its website.

Requirements

FINANCIAL

  • Minimum credit score: Non-credit based.

  • Minimum projected post-graduation income: $30,000.

  • Average post-graduation income of approved borrowers: $55,000.

  • Maximum debt-to-income ratio: 50%.

  • Can qualify if you’ve filed for bankruptcy: No.

OTHER

  • Citizenship: Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

  • Location: Available in all 50 U.S. states.

  • Must be enrolled half-time or more: Yes.

  • Types of schools served: You must be enrolled in a nursing degree program at an eligible school.

  • College level: You must be within 12 months of graduating.

Repayment options

IN-SCHOOL REPAYMENT OPTIONS:

  • Deferred: No payments required while you’re in school.

POST-SCHOOL REPAYMENT OPTIONS

  • Grace period: 6 months.

  • Salary floor: $20,000. Payments aren’t required when you earn below this amount. If you’re working full time and earning below the salary floor, those months count toward your payment term.

  • Unemployment deferment: Payments aren’t required during periods of unemployment. If you’re seeking full-time employment — and provide proof of your efforts — these months count toward your repayment term.

  • In-school deferment: Yes. Periods in school do not count toward your repayment term.

  • Military deferment: Yes.

  • Forbearance: No. You cannot pause repayment based on a temporary economic hardship or for reasons other than the ones listed above.

  • Death or disability discharge: Yes.

REPAYMENT PREFERENCES

  • Reports payments to credit bureaus: Yes.

Customer service

  • Servicer: Avenify.

  • In-house customer service team: Yes.

  • Process for escalating concerns: Yes.

  • Borrowers get assigned a dedicated banker, advisor or representative: No.

  • Average time from application to approval: You can receive funding in minutes.

  • Career services: You can receive services such as resume reviews and mock interviews. But Avenify does not currently offer job placement services.

How to apply for an Avenify income share agreement

Before taking out an Avenify ISA or any other type of private student debt, exhaust your federal student loan options first. Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, to apply.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s FAFSA Guide

Compare your projected costs under an ISA to private student loan options to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible. In addition to how much you’ll repay, look at lenders’ repayment alternatives and the flexibility they offer to borrowers who struggle to make payments.

STUDENT LOANS RATINGS METHODOLOGY

An income share agreement is not a student loan, but borrowers may choose between the two. NerdWallet believes the best education lending product is one that costs you the least. That’s why NerdWallet’s ratings reward lenders that offer favorable loan terms, limit fees and penalties, and extend borrowers multiple options to avoid default. Points are also awarded for soft credit checks, underwriting transparency and other consumer-friendly features. Use these ratings as a guide, but we encourage you to shop around for the best deal you can qualify for. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for its reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.

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