Effective Date: 2/4/2021
Last updated on: 2/1/2024
These Ascent Borrower Benefits (the “Borrower Benefits”) are a legal agreement between you, as a current or prospective
customer of Ascent’s services (“you,” “your,” “applicant,” or “borrower”), Ascent Funding, LLC (“Ascent,” “we,” “our” or
“us”), and our bank partners (the Bank of Lake Mills (“BOLM”), and DR Bank (“DR Bank”), together, the “Bank Partners”). The Borrower Benefits described on this site, including their terms,
conditions, availability, or pricing, are subject to change at any time, without notice.
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Automatic Payment Discount
a. Eligibility
These Automatic Payment Discount Terms & Conditions are applicable to eligible loan applications received on or
after 07/1/2021.
Eligibility for the Automatic Payment Discount is limited to borrowers that have an Ascent loan that was originated by
either DR Bank or BOLM and are enrolled in and making automatic debit payments from their personal checking account and the amount is
successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month with the loan servicer.
Additional eligibility terms include:
- The loan must be current. Loans in a delinquency and/or default or charge-off status, or loans in modified or
reduced repayment programs other than the Ascent Progressive Repayment program are not eligible. - The required minimum monthly payment amount must successfully be made on time.
- Borrowers lose this benefit after two (2) consecutive Insufficient Funds (“NSF”) payments, until they requalify
by satisfying the NSF payment and fees and re-enroll in ACH payments. - If a borrower has a deferred repayment plan, they will still need to make a monthly payment of $1.00 or more
while in school to be eligible for the Automatic Payment Discount.
Eligibility for the Automatic Payment Discount by repayment plan or status:
- Interest-Only Repayment: Borrowers are eligible to receive the Automatic Payment Discount when
they are enrolled in automatic debit payments with the loan servicer and pay at least the in-school interest
payment amount on-time each month during the in-school and grace periods. Full principal and interest payments
will be debited when the loan enters repayment at the end of the grace period. - $25 Minimum Repayment: Borrowers are eligible to receive the Automatic Payment Discount when
they are enrolled in automatic debit payments with the loan servicer and pay at least the $25 minimum payment
amount on-time each month during the in-school and grace periods. Full principal and interest payments will be
debited when the loan enters repayment at the end of the grace period. - Deferred Repayment: Borrowers are eligible to receive the Automatic Payment Discount only when
a payment amount of at least $1.00 is debited from their account. Borrowers may satisfy this requirement by
enrolling in automatic debit payments with the servicer and authorizing an optional additional fixed payment
amount of at least $1.00 more than the minimum monthly payment. During deferment, the minimum monthly payment is
zero ($0.00), but the fixed amount will be debited. When the loan enters repayment at the end of the grace
period, full principal and interest payments plus the fixed payment amount will be debited. - Full Principal and Interest Repayment (and Progressive Repayment): Borrowers are eligible to
receive the Automatic Payment Discount when they are enrolled in automatic debit payments with the loan servicer
and pay at least the required minimum principal and interest payment amount on-time each month.
Under any repayment options listed above, borrowers may elect to include an optional additional fixed payment amount to
be debited in addition to the required monthly minimum.
b. Additional Terms
Automatic Payment Discounts are applied as a reduction in the rate at which interest accrues on an eligible student
loan. This may change the amount of a borrower’s minimum monthly payment, may change the total number of payment
necessary to pay off a borrower’s loan, and may change the amount of a borrower’s final payment.
The amount of the Automatic Payment Discount offered is dependent upon proprietary credit decisioning criteria used in
rendering a loan approval. The available Automatic Payment Discount for a particular loan is disclosed to applicants
upon presentation of the loan offer.
No more than one Automatic Payment Discount may be applied to an eligible student loan.
Notice to borrowers:
- It is your responsibility to notify the loan servicer if you believe the Automatic Payment Discount has not been
applied correctly. - To enroll in automatic payments, you must contact Ascent’s loan servicer, Launch Servicing, directly after your loan has been disbursed:
Ascent Funding, LLC
c/o Launch Servicing, LLC
P.O. Box 91910 | Sioux Falls, SD 57109
Phone: 877-209-5297
Email: [email protected]
Website: AscentFunding.LaunchServicing.com
- The Automatic Payment Discount will begin after successful completion of your first payment that is made through
automatic debit. - If you cancel your enrollment in automatic debit, the Automatic Payment Discount will be discontinued as of the
date of the last payment made through automatic debit. - You will lose this benefit after two (2) consecutive NSF payments, until you requalify by satisfying the NSF
payment and fees and re-enroll in ACH payments.
c. Automatic Payment Discount Details
The current offered Automatic Payment Discount is an interest rate reduction of either 0.25% (for Credit-Based Loans) or
1.00% (for Undergraduate Outcomes-Based Loans).
- 0.25% Automatic Payment Discount applied when eligible borrowers are making automatic payments on their Ascent
credit-based student loan via auto debit from their personal checking account. - 1.00% Automatic Payment Discount applied when eligible borrowers are making automatic payments on their Ascent
non-cosigned outcomes-based student loan via auto debit from their personal checking account.
These Terms and Conditions are applicable to eligible loan applications funded by BOLM and received on or after
02/04/2021, or funded by DR Bank and received on or after June 28, 2023. Ascent and BOLM, and DR Bank reserve the right to amend these Borrower Benefits at any time, without notice.
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1% Cash Back Graduation Reward
a. Eligibility
In order to be eligible for the 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward, borrower must meet the following criteria after
graduation:
- The borrower must initiate the request for the granting of the graduation reward.
- The borrower has graduated from the degree program that the loan was used to fund.
- The borrower must provide adequate documentation to verify proof-of-graduation under the requisite degree
program. - The borrower may change majors and/or transfer to a different school, but must obtain the same level of degree
(e.g. Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate, etc). - The graduation date is more than 90 days and less than five (5) years after the date of the loan’s first
disbursement. - Any loan that the student has borrowed under the Ascent loan is not more than 30-days delinquent or in a default
status as of the graduation date and until any Graduation Reward is paid. - The loan must not have been refinanced or consolidated with another lender prior to redeeming the reward.
- The borrower must enroll in Automatic Debit payments for repayment of the loan.
- The borrower must provide information that enables Ascent to deliver the funds electronically.
- Ascent (or loan owner at the applicable time) will calculate the 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward based on the
original principal balance of the applicable loan. Such amount will be sent to the borrower in an agreed upon
format, such as direct deposit or check. - The student borrower is only eligible to receive the reward one time.
b. Additional Terms
This reward is considered taxable income and may be reported on IRS Form 1099-MISC. We recommend you consult a tax
professional for advice.
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Cosigner Release
For loans originated prior to 7/1/2022
Borrowers can apply to release their cosigner based on the following eligibility requirements:
- The borrower must meet the eligibility criteria requirements for an Ascent Non-Cosigned Credit-Based Loan.
- The borrower must have successfully paid at least the first twenty-four (24), full principal and interest payments on-time or an equivalent prepayment amount and meeting other eligibility criteria to qualify.
- The borrower must make the request to release a cosigner directly with Ascent’s loan servicer, Launch Servicing, or the loan holder.
- The borrower must request to enroll in making automatic payments through Ascent’s loan servicer, Launch Servicing, LLC.
Ascent’s loan servicer, Launch Servicing, LLC, will notify the borrower within ten (10) business days of applying to release their cosigner if they have been approved or they will be advised if additional information is needed.
For loans originated on or after 7/1/2022
a. Eligibility
Borrowers can apply to release their cosigner based on the following eligibility requirements:
- The borrower must have successfully paid twelve (12) consecutive, full principal and interest payments on-time or an equivalent prepayment amount and meeting other eligibility criteria.
- The borrower must make the request to release a cosigner directly with Ascent’s loan servicer, Launch Servicing, or the loan holder.
- The borrower must meet certain minimum credit and income requirements and complete a Cosigner Release application.
Ascent’s loan servicer, Launch Servicing, LLC will notify the borrower within ten (10) business days of applying to release their cosigner if they have been approved or they will be advised if additional information is needed.
The borrower must meet certain minimum credit and income requirements and complete a Cosigner Release application. See full eligibility requirements here: Cosigner Release application.
b. Terms and Conditions
In order to be eligible for a cosigner to be release from an Ascent loan, all of the following terms and conditions must be met:
- The borrower must submit a completed and signed Cosigner Release Application (“Application”), which may be downloaded from the Ascent website here: Cosigner Release application.
- The borrower must meet the age of majority requirements in the borrower’s state of residence to enter into a legally binding contract, which is 18 years of age in all states except Alabama (19), Nebraska (19) and Puerto Rico (21).
- The borrower must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident alien or DACA status with a valid SSN at the time the request is submitted. If the borrower’s citizenship / residence status changed since originally applying for the loan(s) in question, the borrower must provide proof of U.S. citizenship, U.S. permanent residence or DACA status.
- The borrower must have demonstrated satisfactory repayment performance on each loan for which a cosigner release is being requested by prepaying an amount equal to the required twelve (12) principal and interest payments or by making the required twelve (12) consecutive full principal and interest payments on-time. Payments made during the in-school and grace periods (or “Interim Period” as defined in the Loan Agreement(s)), including any payments made under any interest only or minimum payment repayment plans do not count towards this requirement. On-time payments must be made within ten (10) days of their scheduled due date.
- All of the borrower’s outstanding Ascent loans are current have been current for the past twelve (12) months.
- None of the loans for which the borrower is requesting a cosigner release have been in any form hardship forbearance or modified repayment program (including any graduated or progressive repayment program) during the twelve (12) months preceding the date of the cosigner release request.
- The borrower must have minimum verifiable income of at least $24,000 annually and provide proof of such income (e.g. – two pay stubs, including one current paystub within the last 60-days, a most recent W-2 or tax return along with a current paystub, or Social Security income/disability award letters).
- The borrower must have graduated from the same degree program or a degree program of the same level (e.g. – Bachelors, Masters, Doctoral Degree, etc.) that the loan(s) for which the cosigner release is being requested were used to fund and provide evidence of the same (such as a copy of a diploma or certificate of completion and/or transcript).
- The borrower must pass a credit review that demonstrates a satisfactory credit history, including but not limited to the following:
- Must not have defaulted on any private or government student loan; and
- Have no reported bankruptcy within the past five (5) years; and
- Have no unsatisfied repossessions, judgments, tax liens, foreclosures or garnishments by creditors
- A cosigner release is only available for loans that are in an open and active status.
Terms and Condition effective date is 7/1/2022. Please be aware that these Terms and Conditions are subject to change.
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Additional Details
These Terms and Conditions are subject to change without notice. We may change them at any time including, but not
limited to, changing the eligibility criteria or imposing additional conditions.
