Private Student Loan Advice & College Financing Resources

Industry recognition highlights Ascent's flexible repayment options, no-fee student loans, borrower benefits, and commitment to helping students successfully finance their education.  SAN DIEGO, Calif., August 6, 2026 — Ascent Funding, LLC (“Ascent”), a student financing company focused on helping students and families confidently plan, pay, and succeed throughout higher education, announced it has been named NerdWallet’s 2026 Best Student Loan Overall. The honor also comes alongside additional recognition from Yahoo Finance, Forbes, and U.S. News, reinforcing Ascent’s position as a standout student loan provider for today’s learners.  NerdWallet’s Best Student Loan Overall award recognizes lenders that stand out across the factors students and families weigh most when comparing private student loans, including accessibility, repayment flexibility, fees, borrower support, and overall value. Ascent was recognized for bringing those priorities together through private student loan options for borrowers with or without a co-signer, flexible repayment plans, no fees on student loans, career support, and graduation rewards.  This award complements a strong year of 2026 recognition for Ascent, including:  Forbes: Best for Flexible Payment Terms   Forbes awarded Ascent a perfect 5-star rating for flexible payment terms, recognizing the company's broad range of repayment options, commitment to serving diverse student populations, and innovative outcomes-based loan program designed to expand access to education financing for students who may not qualify through traditional credit-based underwriting.  Yahoo Finance: Best Overall Private Student Loan  Yahoo Finance named Ascent its Best Overall Private Student Loan, recognizing the company for its undergraduate and graduate student loan options, longer-than-usual grace period after graduation, and Progressive Repayment option, which allows borrowers to begin with smaller payments after graduation that increase over time while remaining within the original loan term.  U.S. News: Highest Listed Private Student Loan Lender Rating  U.S. News rated Ascent 4.8/5 in its Best Private Student Loans comparison, the highest listed rating among private student loan lenders. The rating reflects Ascent’s no-fee structure, accessibility for noncitizens, broad range of eligible schools and programs, and flexible repayment options.  “Paying for college can feel complicated, and students deserve options that make the process feel clearer and more manageable,” said Allie Danziger, Chief Marketing Officer at Ascent. “We’re honored to be recognized by respected financial publications because these awards reflect the work our team does every day to support borrowers with options designed to meet them where they are.”  Recognition That Reflects Real Student Impact  Together, these awards reflect what Ascent is building: a student loan experience with more pathways to financing, support beyond the loan, stronger borrower benefits, and repayment options designed for the realities of modern learners. According to the 2025 Impact Report, in 2025 alone, Ascent helped more than 27,000 learners finance their education across more than 1,300 colleges and universities and 80 career schools, disbursing more than $357 million to support students in traditional degree programs, career training programs, certificates, bootcamps, and workforce pathways. Ascent also broadened access through more than $32 million in Zero Percent Loans and more than $8 million in loans to DACA students, while more than 9,200 learners engaged in professional skills and financial wellness training.  That same focus on access and support shows up in the way Ascent structures its student loan options: competitive rates starting at 2.19% Annual Percentage Rate (APR)¹, no fees on college and graduate student loans, automatic payment discounts, flexible repayment options, and access to AscentUP student success resources². The result is a student financing experience built to meet more learners where they are, helping them pay for school with options that are clearer, more flexible, and better aligned with the path ahead.  About Ascent Funding  Ascent is a leading provider of innovative financial products and wrap-around student support services that has helped more than 220,000 borrowers* pay for school while enabling 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 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.   For more information, visit AscentFunding.com.  Media Contact:  Ascent: [email protected]   Ascent Funding, LLC products are made available through Bank of Lake Mills or DR Bank, each Member FDIC. Subject to credit approval.  1Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) displayed above are effective as of 08/01/2026 and reflect an Automatic Payment Discount of 0.5% on credit-based college student loans, and a 1.00% discount on outcomes-based college student loans when you enroll in automatic payments. Loans subject to individual approval, restrictions and conditions apply. Loan features and information advertised are intended for college student loans and are subject to change at any time. For more information, see repayment examples or review the Ascent Student Loans Terms and Conditions. The final amount approved depends on the borrower's credit history, verifiable cost of attendance as certified by an eligible school and is subject to credit approval and verification of application information. Lowest interest rates require full principal and interest (Immediate) payments, the shortest loan term, a cosigner, and are only available for our most creditworthy applicants and cosigners with the highest average credit scores. Actual APR offered may be higher or lower than the examples above, based on the amount of time you spend in school and any grace period you have before repayment begins. Variable rates may increase after consummation.  2 For more information, including eligibility requirements, terms, and conditions, please visit www.ascentfunding.com/ascentbenefitsterms.  * Over 220,000 borrowers took out an Ascent loan for college or career training tuition or expenses between January 2018 and March 2026. 

Getting a job after graduation is the goal of most college students. But for many, the job search, interview, and employment process is completely new. We have some ideas for you that you can share with your graduate to help them with their first professional job hunt.

If you can stick to your budget under the stress of finals and midterms, you’ll be prepared to face future challenges in life with a level head. Let’s look at why sticking to a budget is so important during crunch time and check out some tips on how to stay on track when classes get tough.

National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that over one-third of college students transfer at least once. Of these students, 14.1 percent transfer during their first year of college. Here are three things to consider when your student is thinking of switching schools:

Student loans are a great tool to use to go to college with nearly seven in 10 college seniors (68 percent) borrowing them in 2015. What makes loans manageable for families are how they can fit into any budget.

The Ascent program is guided by a focus on transparency, financial education and student outcomes, working with students and families to view college and evaluate their financial aid options as an investment, not an expenditure. Further, Ascent is the only student loan provider that incorporates financial education into the application process and requires all students and cosigners to complete a financial literacy module before approving loans.

In this post, we’ll take a look at how student loans can enable you to prioritize your educational path and what types of financial aid may be right for your situation. We’ll also check out some questions you may ask yourself to determine which financial path is right for you. Wherever you come from and wherever you’re going, Ascent aims to provide you the assistance you need to succeed.

“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.”

“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.”

There can be many uncertain factors that prevent us from securing all our college funding. If you find that you need to secure funds right before school starts, you don’t have to go about it alone. This guide, along with our other helpful blog posts, will help you explore the options you have to secure that last-minute funding for college.

Once you have the budgeting ball rolling, it’s much easier to keep it going, but you’ll still have to work through the occasional bump in the road. We’ll explore some of the mental and financial challenges the school year can present, and ways to overcome these obstacles. By building upon your previous budgeting and planning knowledge, you’ll be well-equipped to take on whatever challenges you may face on the path to higher education.