This sounds a lot like Lumni, which has been popular in South America and is coming to the US: << Sneider’s dream was to attend college so he could become a nu

This sounds a lot like Lumni, which has been popular in South America and is coming to the US: << Sneider’s dream was to attend college so he could become a nurse and serve his community. To do so, he needed $8,500 — a sum that is close to the average annual income in Colombia. The problem is that financial aid and student loans are far less abundant in Colombia than they are in the United States. Sneider, who was unable to provide collateral or a cosigner, had little hope of getting a loan from a traditional lender. Here’s the deal that Lumni struck with him: In exchange for $8,530 in financing, Sneider agreed to repay 14 percent of his salary for 118 months after he graduated. At that point, regardless of how much he has paid, his obligation terminates. Although this might sound similar to a loan, an “income contingent” repayment plan like this is far less risky for a low-income student like Sneider. >> http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/30/instead-of-student-loans-investing-in-futures/ http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/30/instead-of-s... Enzi is doing something similar, over a longer time period: << Enzi, another start-up, has just put students from India and Iran through Stanford University; they are paying investors up to 6% of their income for five years. The big challenge is to come up with enforceable contracts, says Ashni Mohnot, Enzi's founder. Millions of poor would-be students could benefit. >> http://www.economist.com/node/16996791 http://www.economist.com/node/16996791