Quality Education Within Your Reach

In Latin America, more than half the students who start secondary school do not graduate. A variety of situations keep students on the streets and out of the classrooms. The Educational Access Program, or PAE (for its Spanish name Programa de Acceso Educativo), is our innovative proposal to provide more educational opportunities to young people in vulnerable conditions.
 
Born from a partnership between UWC Costa Rica and LUMNI, PAE was created with the goal of reinforcing UWC Costa Rica's mission to educate regardless of socioeconomic status. At the same time, it seeks to bring students and donors together with an educational institution in a win-win system.

The program's operation depends on two essential values. Only the talent and good faith of students and graduates can guarantee the success of this system.
 
UWC Costa Rica's aspiration is to offer educational opportunities at UWC Costa Rica to more young people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and to instill an alumni culture of altruism committed to supporting future generations to ensure a self-sustainable model of PAE (Programa de Acceso Educativo).
 
UWC Costa Rica students, during their academic and integral formation, UWC Costa Rica students commit to a symbolic culture of repayment. They do commit, however, to starting formal repayment when they enter the workforce.

 

Trust and Commitment

Our mission is to promote the academic formation of future leaders through an educational system that enables students to take an active role in their community, thus triggering a commitment to being agents of positive change in the world. Through the Educational Access Program (PAE), we seek to offer more opportunities to young people from vulnerable communities at UWC Costa Rica.
 

List of 5 items.

  • Why is the Educational Access Program (PAE) NOT a loan?

    This program seeks to support and facilitate the life projects of UWC Costa Rica graduates.
     
    • No interest is charged and no installment amounts are defined.
    • Repayment will be fair and in proportion to their income.
    • Funded students will help others have an opportunity to study at UWC Costa Rica.
    • Students receive ongoing support, increasing their likelihood of graduation and employability.
    • Students have a 6-month grace period after graduating from the university while they enter the workforce.
    • If they show they are unemployed, students are eligible for a 6-month unemployment period.
    • If the grace period and unemployment periods are used up, each case will be evaluated.
  • What is the Shared Income Model? (AIC)

  • What is the "payment culture"?

    The payment culture is a symbolic amount that students will contribute during their studies at UWC Costa Rica, while they are at university, and during any grace/unemployment period. This amount corresponds to:
     
    • $5 (USD) per month during your studies at UWC Costa Rica
    • $10 (USD) per month during your university studies
    • $10 (USD) per month during the grace period and the unemployment period
  • What is the "productive stage or repayment installment"?

    When a UWC Costa Rica graduate starts to work he or she must contribute 10% of his or her gross salary every month for a period of 84 months, provided their income exceeds the amount of two minimum monthly wages in the country where they work.
     
    For example: If the percentage agreed in your contract is 10% and your first salary is $1,000, then your monthly repayment will be: $1,000 x 10%= $100.
     
    If your salary later increases to $1,500, then your monthly payment from that moment on will be $1,500 x 10%= $150.
  • Other commitments:

    Information Update: Commitment to update academic and employment status information at least every semester.

    Annual reconciliation: Annual review to validate over- or underpayments during the productive stage.

    Income-Share Agreement (ISA): Upon payment of 84 installments of 10% of salary or if the sum of your payments is $40,000, whichever comes first.

About LUMNI

LUMNI has been investing in a better future for over 19 years. It is a leader and pioneer in higher education financing through the management of the Income-Share Agreement (ISA).
 
This company specializes in designing and managing investment funds for financing human capital. A pioneer and global leader with more than 17 years of experience in the field and recognized in education and social entrepreneurship, it has supported more than 10,000 Latin American youth with more than $65,000,000 in educational funding.
 
The organization was founded and is led by Felipe Vergara, an Ashoka Fellow and member of the Board of Directors of Ashoka International.
 
See more information at https://www.lumni.net
 

List of 2 items.

  • Why opt for Lumni's ISA benefit?

    All students participating in the Lumni program will be able to opt for different tools to position themselves in the labor market such as help in creating a resumé, managing platforms such as LinkedIn, and facing interviews, among other things.
     
    The main thing to consider is that the money each student will repay will help the next generations have the same possibilities they have had to acquire the tools from both UWC and Lumni, increasing their future opportunities.
  • Why should I apply to Lumni?

    Lumni is UWC Costa Ricas account manager for your educational funding. They will be in charge of the income share agreement (ISA) and will accompany each student to successfully complete this process.
     
    This process starts once you have been nominated by your National Committee and accepted to UWC Costa Rica. We will guide you at all times.
 
 

Frequently Asked Questions

List of 15 frequently asked questions.

  • How do I pay? What is the payment culture?

    When you sign an income share agreement with Lumni, you agree to pay as follows:
     
    During your study period, you must pay a payment culture each month. You are also required to pay a payment culture if you are unemployed (grace period and authorized unemployment period). The amount of the payment culture varies by country but is calculated at a reasonably low amount in periods without income.
     
    For example: If the percentage agreed in your contract is 10% and your first salary after finishing your funded program is $1,000, then your monthly repayment will be: $1,000 x 10% = $100.
     
    If sometime later your salary increases to $1,500, then your monthly repayment from that point on will be $1,500 x 10%= $150.
  • How do you continue the process?

    Application: Select the UWC 2021-2 Educational Access Program, enter the requested student and guardian information, and attach the required supporting documents, which will be checked by Lumni:

    1. Registration: You will receive an email from Lumni with an access code (token) to enter the Lumni platform and register at https://uwccostarica.lumniportal.net/users/sign_in
    2. Application: Select the current year's Educational Access Program, register the requested information of the student and the tutor, as well as attach the required supports that will be validated by Lumni:
      1. Student’s passport
      2. Guardian's passport (only if the student is a minor)
      3. Student's photo (for use in the student's platform)
    1. Funding proposal: The student accepts the ISA conditions and downloads a PDF of the ISA.
    2. ISA formalization: The student and guardian read, print, and sign the ISA and its annexes in the original. The promissory note will be sent by Lumni to the student's email according to the corresponding country.
      1. Send the scanned signed documents to Lumni.
      2. Deliver the original signed documents to the UWC immigration area once at school.
  • What is Lumni?

    Lumni is the leading higher education financing company and a pioneer in the use of income share agreements.
     
    Our business model brings together students, investors (individuals and institutions), and educational institutions in a win-win model.
  • When do I have to pay?

    By the 10th of each month.
  • What is the maximum amount payable?

    The maximum amount payable is the cost of the program with the ISA benefit, which corresponds to US $40,000.
  • How do I finish with the financing?

    You have the following possibilities to fulfill your ISA:
    • Paying all 84 monthly installments of 10% of your gross salary.
    • Paying the full amount of US $40,000, even if you have not completed the 84 months.
  • What is the guardian figure?

    The guardian will sign the ISA with the student if he/she is a minor and will accompany the student in signing up for the formal education. He/she will be our first contact in case we do not locate the student. 
     
    Once you reach legal age, you will have to sign a new agreement and the guardian will cease to be responsible for the agreement since you assume full responsibility.
  • Why am I being asked for reference information?

    The student will not always be in the region or country that was considered in his application and the data of a person may vary during the period of the repayment obligation, so references are requested to be able to contact people to update the information so that we can contact the student if he/she did not change his/her basic background information in the system.
     
    It is important to note that references will only be used if the student cannot be contacted and his/her ISA information cannot be delivered.
  • How much do I have to pay monthly?

    The payment culture will be US $5 while you are studying, US $10 when you finish the UWC program, while you are studying at the university, and later in the grace/unemployment period.
     
    The repayment fee corresponds to 10% of your gross monthly salary and must be paid monthly through the platform that your ISA has indicated for you.
  • What is an income share agreement (ISA)?

    It is financing in which you have the opportunity to pay for your studies once you have a job or productive activity by committing a percentage of your income for a specified number of months
  • Is what you are offering me a loan?

    It is not a loan, it is financing. It is an agreement that covers the financing of your studies. You will start repaying it, once you have signed the agreement, with your payment culture and your repayments once you start working.
     
    Lumni invests in students so that they can complete their studies. It is not the same as a traditional loan because there is no interest rate or fixed fees to pay and we do not require collateral. What is paid will depend on the student's future income, and your collateral is your talent and future potential.
  • Where should I pay?

    You will have three possible ways to pay:
     
    • Once you are at the school you will be able to pay at the school itself in the accounting offices by credit or debit card.
    • Once you have finished, the Account Manager will inform you of the payment platform where you will be able to pay with a credit or debit card.
    • The link will be sent to you where you will be able to pay by credit card.
  • What is the grace period?

    The grace period is activated when a student, upon completing his or her university studies with the Institution, begins the process of looking for a job. During this period, which will extend up to 6 months from date of graduation, the student will have an obligation to pay the payment culture. Once the student finds a job, this period expires.
  • What is the unemployment period?

    The purpose of the unemployment period is to help the student once he/she becomes unemployed. If the student uses up the entire grace period, he/she can continue with this period.
     
    If the student does not use up this unemployment period, he/she will be able to use it discontinuously for a total of 6 months. Once this number of months has been used up, the student should ask Lumni to consider an extension, which must be analyzed with the Institution in a committee that will review the arguments submitted by the student.
  • Why opt for Lumni's ISA benefit?

    All students participating in the Lumni program will be able to opt for different tools to position themselves in the labor market such as help in creating a resumé, managing platforms such as LinkedIn, and facing interviews, among other things.
     
    The main thing you should consider is that the money you are going to pay will help the next generations have the same possibilities as you have had and acquire the tools of both UWC and Lumni, increasing their future opportunities.
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Our mission: To cultivate in young people the passion and ability to serve humanity and our planet—learning from nature and from each other for a lifetime.

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