Paying for school can be a huge hassle, especially when the bank bans you from showing up with a dump truck full of pennies. Do they know how hard it is to borrow a dump truck on short notice?

Anyway, if you've been doing your homework on college finance, you might have come across this delightful little phrase: income share agreement. Street name: ISA. We're here to give you the lowdown on this unorthodox, yet increasingly popular, student loan alternative. Don't worry, you can thank us later.

Our first pro tip is simply this: don't believe all the hype. ISAs aren't all good or all bad. You knew that already though, right? You're one of those Shmoop-born-and-bred critical thinkers.