College Loans
Ascent puts you and your family first.
You may pre-qualify for a student loan without a cosigner and build credit in your own name.
Choose from affordable fixed or variable rates, customize your repayment terms, and pay off your loan without any penalty.
Cover up to 100% of your attendance costs. Plus, you can get 1% cash back and a discount if you set up automatic payments.
You’ve already put a lot of work into preparing for college.
We ask you to provide important information such as your name, address, date of birth, the school you’re applying to, and employment information. If you’re applying with a cosigner, they’ll also enter their information.
Once your completed loan application is approved, you’ll be able to view your repayment options and select the loan terms that work best for you.
After you choose your loan terms, your Ascent portal will be populated with tasks to complete. These tasks include a financial wellness quiz and providing us with any additional information we need to prepare your loan.
When your portal tasks are complete, we send your loan for school certification. Once certified, we’ll disburse your loan directly to your school.
See your rates today without impacting your credit score.
Apply NowStudent borrowers without established credit** and those who meet the minimum credit requirements but don’t meet the income or repayment requirements may qualify for a loan without a cosigner based on several alternative factors, which may include:
Additionally, students seeking a loan without a cosigner must:
**NOTE: Ascent applicants without a cosigner AND less than two (2) years of non-student loan credit history are not tested against any minimum current annual income criteria. Instead, they are evaluated based on the factors listed above and other criteria that do not consider current annual income.
Creditworthiness refers to your eligibility to receive credit from a lender. Lenders use your credit history to assess the level of risk involved with issuing a loan or another form of credit to borrowers. There are many factors that contribute to creditworthiness including your credit score and repayment history.
Since many students have not yet established credit, Ascent determines creditworthiness for loans without a cosigner in the following ways:
There is no minimum income requirement for Ascent’s Non-Cosigned Outcomes-Based Loan.* For Ascent’s Non-Cosigned Credit-Based Loan, the minimum income requirement is $24,000 per year.
* NOTE: If you are applying for a loan without a cosigner AND have less than two (2) years of non-student loan credit history, you will not be tested against any minimum current annual income criteria. Instead, evaluation is based on the school of attendance, program, major, and other criteria that do not consider current annual income.
If you are a student borrower with or without a cosigner AND have less than 2 years of credit history:
If you are a student borrower without a cosigner and have at least 2 years of credit and make a gross annual income of $24,000:
NOTE – Ascent applicants without a cosigner AND less than two (2) years of non-student loan credit history are not tested against any minimum current annual income criteria. Instead, they are evaluated based on their school of attendance, program, major, GPA, and other criteria that do not consider current annual income.
Ascent offers private student loans without a cosigner at competitive rates.
Non-Cosigned Credit-Based Loan:
Non-Cosigned Outcomes-Based Loan:
Non-Cosigned Credit-Based Loan:
Non-Cosigned Outcomes-Based Loan:
*Rates displayed above are effective as of 09/01/2023 and reflect an Automatic Payment Discount of 0.25% (for Credit-Based loans) on the lowest offered rate and a 1.00% (for Undergraduate Outcomes-Based Loans) discount on the highest offered rate. For more information, see repayment examples and review the Automatic Payment Discount 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 APRs require interest-only payments, the shortest loan term, and a cosigner, and are only available to our most creditworthy applicants and cosigners with the highest average credit scores.
NOTE: For certain loans with low balances, the minimum monthly payment amount may cause the loan amortization schedule to be less than the selected term.
NOTE: Because the Non-Cosigned Outcomes-Based Loan is available to students without any reliance on cosigners, processing times may be longer and loan amounts may be lower than the loan amount requested.
*The minimum loan amount is $2,001 except for the state of Massachusetts. Minimum loan amount for borrowers with a Massachusetts permanent address is $6,001.
Don’t lose your financial freedom before you have the chance to earn it! To help you borrow responsibly, we incorporate financial wellness into our loans without cosigner application process and give you exclusive access to tools and content to help you get set for greater financial success.
Financial Wellness TipsFrom your first application for a private student loan with a cosigner to your final payment, we’re committed to helping you every step of the way. Our 100% U.S.-based Customer Service Team is here for you.
If you are a student borrower with or without a cosigner AND have less than 2 years of credit history:
If you are a student borrower without a cosigner and have at least 2 years of credit and make a gross annual income of $24,000:
NOTE – Ascent applicants without a cosigner AND less than two (2) years of non-student loan credit history are not tested against any minimum current annual income criteria. Instead, they are evaluated based on their school of attendance, program, major, GPA, and other criteria that do not consider current annual income.
Anjellica C.
Northern Arizona University
Rnajee M.
Mississippi State University
Grace G.
Simmons College
Every year, Ascent awards over $80,000 in scholarships for college and bootcamp students.