Devon
Devon is a transfer student to the University of Utah, majoring in finance and the first person in his family to attend college. He took all online classes during his first year at the U because he worked full time in a job that required him to travel internationally. Devon has two scholarships that pay 75 percent of his tuition bill, but do not cover the cost of his books, housing and living expenses. To graduate in spring 2020, Devon must stay enrolled full time. He needs $10,000 to fill his funding gap. Devon plans to take out a $10,000 ISA to cover his expenses so he can graduate and launch his professional career with the added advantages of a college degree.
Madelaine
Madelaine came to the U.S. as a political refugee from Africa in 2010. She waited until she was 23 years old to enroll in college and does not have family able to help with her education costs. Madelaine is now a junior majoring in economics and minoring in fine arts with plans to pursue an MBA. While she has some scholarship support to help with tuition and books, she needs additional funding to complete her undergraduate degree in 2020. Madelaine is nervous about taking out loans, as she knows they will continue to accrue interest while she is in graduate school. Madelaine plans to take out an $8,000 ISA to pay for the expenses not covered by her scholarship. After completing her bachelor’s and MBA, Madelaine will begin making payments of 2.85 percent of her monthly income to fulfill her ISA obligation.
Mitchel
Mitchel will be a senior with 24 credit hours remaining to complete his degree. He has a partial scholarship that helps with tuition, as well as a part-time job. After living at home for two years, Mitchel decided that living near campus would benefit him academically and socially. He needs $6,000 to cover expenses above his scholarship award and his on-campus job to ensure he graduates next year. Mitchel plans to get an ISA to cover expenses and likes how his future ISA payments will go into the Invest in U fund to help future students in similar situations.
Andre
Andre is a junior majoring in Medical Laboratory Science. He has a scholarship to help with tuition, but it only covers 12 credit hours per semester. To graduate on time and stay on track for medical school, he wants to take 16 credit hours in the fall and spring semesters of his senior year. To cover the cost of an additional eight credit hours (four per fall/spring semester) and living expenses, Andre plans to take out a $5,000 ISA. Andre likes that the ISA makes it possible for him to take more credit hours to accelerate completion of his degree so he can pursue medical school.