u/michaelnovati replied ·
The original post was deleted but I would like to provide my insider view on this.
Most ISAs now are offered from banks and not from bootcamps directly. So it's not like the bootcamp is selling off ISAs and speeding off with the money (at least if you are assuming good intentions for how the business model was intended to work).
So most ISA/ISLs are done directly with a bank (via an intermediary like Stride or Ascent) and you are getting this "loan" to pay the upfront fee of the program.
The program itself has little involvement, other than that interest rates and terms are based on a program's outcomes and if a program doesn't work, the bank will stop supporting it. And typically the program won't get the full program cost upfront, as a way of sharing some amount of risk if the person disappears or doesn't ever get a job.
So it's like a loan to compare against other loans and the difference is payment is contingent on having a job.