Private Student Loan Advice & College Financing Resources

Expert guidance on private student loans including how to plan, pay, and succeed for students and parents from the start of school through graduation.

  • Ascent Named Best Places to Work in Fintech 2026   
    Ascent, a leading provider of innovative financial products and student support services that enable more students to access education and achieve academic and economic success, has been named one of the 2026 Best Places to Work in Fintech, an awards program created in 2017 by Arizent and Best Companies Group.  This annual survey and awards program recognizes the top employers in the financial technology industry. Honorees operate across a wide range of financial services sectors, including banking, mortgages, insurance, payments and financial advisory. To be eligible, companies must provide technology products or services that support financial services delivery, have been in business for at least one year, and employ at least 15 people in the U.S.  "Each year, the Best Places to Work in Financial Technology offers a glimpse into the practices of fintechs whose employees rate their workplaces highly," said Penny Crosman, executive editor of technology at American Banker. "This year, employees appear to value remote work and schedule flexibility above all else, at a time when many traditional financial firms have enforced strict return-to-work policies."  Companies from across the United States entered a two-part survey process to determine Arizent’s Best Places to Work in Fintech. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company's workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process, analyzed the data and determined the final ranking.  “We’re proud to have built a workplace where employees feel trusted, supported, and genuinely connected to the work they do,” said Emily Skoubo, Director of Human Resources at Ascent. “This recognition reflects the collaborative culture our team has created together and our continued focus on providing an environment where people can grow, contribute, and feel valued.”  For more information on Arizent’s Best Places to Work in Fintech program, including full eligibility criteria, visit www.BestPlacestoWorkFinTech.com or contact Penny Crosman at [email protected].  About Ascent  Ascent is a leading provider of innovative financial products and wrap-around student support services that enable more students to access education and achieve academic and economic success. Everything Ascent offers is designed by leading industry professionals and with advanced technology and innovation to increase every student’s ability to plan, pay, and succeed. Ascent’s rare Outcomes-based Loan provides funding to credit-invisible borrowers who generally do not benefit from traditional credit. Ascent products also include: Cosigned Loans, Solo Loans, Career Loans, Parent Loans, Graduate Loans, Access Loans, Enterprise Loans and Impact Loans.  
  • Ascent Launches New Bright Futures™ Engine to Bring Transparency to the College Decision Making Process
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SAN DIEGO, CA (December 10, 2019) – From chemical engineering to sociology, a student’s future earnings after graduation and cost of attendance should be part of their overall college decision.
  • Pencils Down: Ascent Helps Students and Friends Earn Money for College
    Ascent Student Loans rolls out the next phase of their Refer A Friend Program to help students and their friends pay for college
  • School is in Session, But Students Still Don’t Have the Money They Need – New Study Reveals What Students Are Actually Doing About It
    Ascent 2019 fall national study measures college students’ preparedness to pay for college for the 2019-2020 academic year.
  • One small step to solving the student debt crisis; one big step to helping students achieve financial success
    Ascent launches strategic partnerships to help students pay for college and succeed beyond the classroom.
  • From Just Friends to Friends with Financial Benefits
    Ascent is helping students earn money for college through their new Refer A Friend Program
  • Ascent Partners with Purefy to Give Students More Options to Pay for College
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SAN DIEGO, CA (August 5, 2019) – Today, Ascent Funding, LLC (“Ascent”), an award-winning, innovative, private student loan company that gives students more opportunities to pay for college with or without a cosigner, announced a partnership with Purefy Inc, an online marketplace for students to shop for private student loan options.
  • KCBQ
    A Different Perspective on How to Approach Paying for College | Ascent CEO Ken Ruggiero on It’s Your Business on KCBQ-AM
    Click here to listen to how Ken is changing the student loan industry in his full interview with @RichardMuscio on @theAnswerSanDiego
  • CNBC
    Here's How Much to Borrow in Student Loans  | CNBC
    “And the trend of graduating with student debt shows no sign of slowing. About 60 percent of current college students ages 18 to 24 say they are responsible for covering more than half of the cost of their education, according to survey from Ascent Student Loans.”
  • Fox Business
    Older Americans: The new face of student loan debt | Fox Business
    “Seniors are facing a serious financial crisis in their golden years: student loan debt…Ken Ruggiero, chief executive officer of Goal Structured Solutions [says] families need to have frank discussions…parents and grandparents need to take the emotion out of the situation and think before they sign.”
  • Student Loan Hero
    Students Shoulder More College Costs — But Doubt the Value of a Degree | Student Loan Hero
    “’We need to once again take an investment approach, and arm students and their parents with information and guidance that will help them better align their level of investment with expected outcomes, such as graduation rates and expected earnings,’ said Ken Ruggiero, chairman and CEO of Goal Structured Solutions, the administrator of Ascent Student Loans, in a statement about the survey.”
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