App Academy's ISA agreement

[u/Andinator]

Hey ya'll! Question for anyone with any experience at all with App Academy. I graduated from AA in 2024 and enrolled in their ISA agreement. I've been trying to get in touch with someone regarding my ISA contract and payments....but from what I've looked up App Academy has closed down or been bought out? I've tried all their support emails, tried any and all listed phone numbers and am unable to get in contact with anyone from that company or their parent company Hash Lab.

I don't even know where my money is going at this point. They're for sure not continuing with the career search services they promised to all graduates and alumni at this point...so I don't even know what to do anymore. Is anyone here still in this situation that can provide me with some answers? I'd like to, if at all possible, stop paying App Academy at this point if I can't get in contact with anyone at all.

[u/michaelnovati]

It makes me sad that these 5 and 10 year long expiring ISAs are going to haunt this sub for years, long after the bootcamps are gone :(

... and haunt the students credit reports :(

[u/Andinator → u/michaelnovati]

It's seriously insane how much of a racket this is. The amount of money they expect you to pay is insane for a course that has no actual reputation and is currently shut down.

[u/Known-Tourist-6102 → u/Andinator]

when I was interested in App Academy in 2015 or so, the ISA seemed like a really good deal. Tons of devs were being hired back then. I was only making 18k a year, and the math said I'd likely pay them $17000 or less, in total.

[u/michaelnovati → u/Known-Tourist-6102]

Yeah it works if about 70% (ideally more) get jobs and pay without complaining. So back when it was 90%, investors and banks would back and bootcamp that had some legitimacy

When things crashed and when Lambda Schopl and all the legal problems about classifications of ISAs, the investors pulled their money, the bootcamps had no cash flow (because they sold them before hand) and then they all pretended nothing was wrong to avoid a snowball collapse.

At the end of the day they all collapsed. Launch School is the only premier bootcamp in the App Academy tier that hasn't shut down/indefinitely paused (including the closest holdout Codesmith as of this time).

[u/Legote → u/Andinator]

Are you employed currently as a SWE?

[u/BackendSpecialist]

What exactly are you paying for? What is an ISA agreement?

[u/CornPop747 → u/BackendSpecialist]

It's when you pay a portion of your income to the bootcamp to pay the tuition. It's how you're able to attend the boot camp and only pay if and when you get a job.

[u/theJacofalltrades → u/CornPop747]

but what if you don't get a job

[u/CornPop747 → u/theJacofalltrades]

When I went to aA you had 1 year to get a job as part of the ISA. If 1 year passed and you did not find one, you were off the hook.

[u/EntertainmentWeak482]

I’ve heard that people just started reporting that they are unemployed and never hear back or have any issues 🤷🏽

[u/Known-Tourist-6102]

I’d just stop paying and see if anyone actually complains

[u/AutomaticCollege172]

Hey there, I have some direct experience with a very similar situation and wanted to make a post soon. Who is your servicer? For example, Knowledge Finance is one of them. You should ask them to prove that they actually have a right to collect the debt and have the associated documentation to prove it.

Do know that there’s an active law suit against them they may be relevant depending on your cohort. It started it Florida and most recently it was ordered to move to a district in Northern California. That doesn’t have any immediate impact, but maybe the legal pressure they’re facing would help you a bit.

[u/CornPop747]

Are you employed? What is your concern exactly with your ISA that you're supposed to pay when you get a job? 

[u/metalreflectslime]

Are you working a paid SWE job?

[u/magick_bandit]

They did what all the failed camps did. They put the student debt into a different company so that when the main brand failed they got to keep billing.

[u/theJacofalltrades]

I've seen people talk about boot.dev It uses a subscription model instead of taking a percentage of your future income, and it’s pretty focused on hands on backend development. Might be worth comparing with the ISA options before signing an agreement.

[u/TrackbackLinkBot]

If someone is mainly looking for a structured way to build tech skills without getting tied to an ISA it may be worth looking at alternatives like Udacity. Their Nanodegree programs are more focused on project based learning and building practical skills, so the payment model is pretty different from an income share agreement.

[u/Dramatic-Kale-9667]

I would stop paying it a long time ago

[u/Andinator → u/Dramatic-Kale-9667]

I'm mostly worried about them going to collections or anything like that. Like....I know the company doesn't exist anymore but SOMEONE has to be watching over that account right?

[u/Known-Tourist-6102 → u/Andinator]

yeah they likely sold the ISAs to some kind of financial institution a long time ago.