Frequently Asked Questions
We are here to help, as always.
Top Questions
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Depending on your program, you might have the option to borrow funds for living expenses, which you can use to help cover your living costs while attending your program.
In most cases, you’ll apply for your tuition and living expenses at the same time with just one application. When you apply, you’ll find two fields for loan amounts in the application: one for tuition and one for living expenses. Enter the amount you would like to borrow for each. You need to apply for at least $2,000 in tuition financing to add living expenses financing.
Some eligible programs offer a separate Living Expense Loan, which allows you to borrow $1,500/month during your program. To apply for a Living Expense Loan for an eligible program, you must have a Deferred Tuition Loan application in progress or have been approved for a Deferred Tuition Loan, and you must submit your application before your cohort begins. Simply submit your Deferred Tuition Loan application to gain access to the Living Expense Loan application.
To see if funds for living expenses are available for your school and program, visit your school’s Ascent partnership page.
The timeline for certification is dependent on your college. For now, all you need to do is sit back and relax while your college reviews the certification request. You can contact your school to ask about the status of your certification if you need more information.
Once the certification is returned, you’ll need to accept your final loan terms. Be sure to keep an eye on your dashboard and email for any notifications.
The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the big picture on your loan. It outlines the annual cost of your loan and includes the origination fee, financing charges, capitalized interest, and the interest rate to reflect the total annualized cost of the loan. Like a stand-alone interest rate, it’s shown as a percentage. APRs are a great way to gauge the total cost of your loan. At Ascent, we commit to including APR anywhere we communicate interest rates so you can make an informed decision.
The APR for Ascent bootcamp loans includes the origination fee and interest rate.
We work with our bootcamp partner schools to ensure students have access to competitive financing. To see the fixed interest rates and APRs currently available for your school and program, visit your school’s Ascent partnership page.
To see if you pre-qualify for an Ascent loan, submit an application. In the pre-qualification process, we’ll conduct a soft credit check with no impact to your credit score. In addition to learning more about your eligibility, you can also see the rates and terms you pre-qualify for.
You can apply for an Ascent bootcamp loan at the same time as applying for scholarships – in fact, we recommend it! Scholarships are a great way to supplement your funding. You can also apply for a loan if you already have a scholarship, or even if you plan to apply for scholarships in the future.
If you receive a scholarship after you apply for a loan, we can easily lower your loan amount before we send your tuition funds to your school. To request a loan decrease, log in to your Ascent dashboard or email [email protected] with the amount of your scholarship. If you need to lower your loan amount after your funds have been sent, you can simply apply your funds to your loan balance at any time without prepayment penalty.
Although we can decrease your loan amount, we can’t increase your loan amount. If you apply for less than the maximum tuition and then realize you do need more funds, please log in to your Ascent dashboard and submit a new application.
For bootcamp tuition, you can apply for as little as $2,000 up to the maximum tuition for your school, program, and location. Depending on your program, you might have the option to borrow living expense funds, which you can use to help cover your living costs. You need to apply for at least $2,000 in tuition to add living expenses.
To see the options for your program before you apply, visit your school’s Ascent partnership page. If you need to lower your loan amount or cancel after you apply, we can help!
Yes, you can add a cosigner to your loan. There are two ways to qualify for an Ascent bootcamp loan: on your own, or with a cosigner. Depending upon your credit health, a cosigner might be required. Cosigners may strengthen your application’s overall credit health. In some scenarios, adding a cosigner may reduce your interest rate and lower your payments. If you’re concerned about your eligibility for an Ascent loan, consider adding a cosigner with strong credit health.
You can choose to add a cosigner before you submit your loan application, or may be given the option to add a cosigner after you apply.
If you’d like to add a cosigner when you apply, you can select this option in the application. If your cosigner is with you, they can start their portion of the application right away. If not, we’ll send them an email asking them to complete their part. Your cosigner’s portion of the application will look very similar to yours.
We’ll keep you and your cosigner updated on the status of your application throughout the process. You’ll receive an email or a notification in the application if you or your cosigner have any required steps to take.
Not necessarily. Ascent considers several factors including: creditworthiness, school, program, graduation date, major, GPA, cost of attendance, and other factors that allow for undergraduate students to potentially obtain a Non-Cosigned Outcomes-Based Loan in their own name without a cosigner. Nevertheless, applying with a cosigner may result in a lower interest rate.
Students who are a U.S. citizen or have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status may apply without a cosigner. Students who are not a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident may apply with a creditworthy cosigner that is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident. (See FAQ, “Can students that are Non-U.S. citizens apply for an Ascent college loan?”)
Yes, Non-US Citizens that meet certain eligibility criteria can apply for an Ascent College or Bootcamp Loan. Please see the required documentation and cosigner requirements below.
Permanent Resident
Required Documents:
Cosigner Requirements: You can apply as a solo applicant, or with a U.S Citizen or U.S Permanent Resident Cosigner
Temporary Resident:
Required Documents:
The following documents may also be submitted in lieu of a VISA and Social Security Card
Cosigner Requirements: A U.S Citizen or U.S Permanent Resident Cosigner will be required with your application.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA):
Required Documents:
Cosigner Requirements: You can apply as a solo applicant, or with a U.S Citizen or U.S Permanent Resident Cosigner
NOTE: The option to apply to release the cosigner after making twelve (12) consecutive full principal and interest payments on-time or an equivalent prepayment amount while also meeting the other eligibility criteria to qualify is only available to student borrowers that are U.S. citizens or have U.S. permanent resident status or DACA status. (See FAQ, “Can I eventually remove the cosigner from my loan?”)
Our goal at Ascent is to help students from all walks of life and with a broad range of backgrounds get access to the programs that interest them. We offer two possible ways to qualify for an Ascent loan: on your own or with a cosigner.
To see if you pre-qualify for an Ascent bootcamp loan, submit an application. In the pre-qualification process, we’ll conduct a soft credit check with no impact to your credit score. In addition to learning more about your eligibility, you can also see the rates and terms you pre-qualify for.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or DACA recipients with established credit history & no outstanding education loan defaults. U.S. temporary residents may apply with a creditworthy cosigner that is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident.
Adding a cosigner can help strengthen your application’s overall credit health, and may even help lower your loan’s interest rate, APR, or monthly payments.
While our application process asks for income and employment details, we won’t use income, employment, or your requested loan amount to evaluate your application.
Ascent's loan servicer, Launch Servicing, who services all Ascent loans, is here to help simplify the servicing process and make repayment easy. There are several ways you can contact Launch Servicing:
Ascent college loans are private education loans and, therefore, generally cannot be discharged like other forms of unsecured consumer debt in a bankruptcy petition without proving “undue hardship” and an extra step in the process called an “adversary proceeding.”
For new Ascent college loans originated beginning June 5, 2023 (“Eligible Ascent Loans”), we have created a process for discharge that does not require a showing of an “undue hardship.” For Eligible Ascent Loans, a borrower or cosigner may obtain a discharge after either (a) making sixty (60) regularly scheduled full principal and interest payments or (b) being in default for five (5) years, if the following conditions (outlined in the terms of your promissory note) are met:
To start the online loan application, click “Apply Now” in the top right corner of this website. Or, visit your school’s Ascent partnership page to see more details about the loan options for your program before applying.
You can apply for an Ascent bootcamp loan to see if you pre-qualify without any impact to your credit score. After you pre-qualify, you’ll preview your monthly payments and repayment plan options. Once you choose a plan, we’ll run a hard credit check to confirm your eligibility so you can finalize your loan.
Students enrolled full-time or at least half-time at an eligible institution may qualify. Certain limitations may apply for such applicants that apply without a cosigner.
For applicants approved for our Cosigned Loan or Credit-Based Non-Cosigned Loan, you may qualify as half-time. For applicants approved by our Outcomes-Based Loan, you must be enrolled full-time*.
*Applicants graduating within 9 months may be half-time under Ascent’s Outcomes-Based Loan.
Due to changes in global markets as well as concerns about the accuracy and reliability of LIBOR in today’s global economy, regulators are retiring LIBOR and requiring that financial institutions transition to a different index.
For more about SOFR and LIBOR, click here.
Ascent’s Progressive Repayment option helps make payments more affordable for students who are making payments on an Ascent college loan upon graduation or are no longer enrolled at least half-time. If you submitted an Ascent college loan on or after 05/17/2019, you may be eligible for Ascent’s Progressive Repayment option allowing you to reduce your current monthly payment that would gradually increase over time so that the loan would be fully paid off within the original loan term. To calculate your adjusted monthly payment amounts under the Progressive Repayment Option, please 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
As of 2020, Ascent bootcamp borrowers have the option to enroll in Autopay. There are many benefits to making automatic payments on your loan with Autopay:
For more on Autopay, see the Automatic Payment Discount Terms & Conditions. Interest rate reduction of 0.25% applies only when the borrower and/or cosigner sign up for automatic payments and the payment amount is successfully deducted from the designated bank account each month. Interest rate reduction(s) will not apply during periods when no payment is due, including periods of in-school, deferment, grace or forbearance, unless a regular payment amount has been arranged with the servicer. If you have two (2) consecutive returned payments for Nonsufficient Funds, we may cancel your automatic debit enrollment and you will lose the interest rate reduction. You will then need to re-qualify and re-enroll in automatic debit payments to receive the interest rate reduction.
The timeline for certification is dependent on your training provider. For now, all you need to do is sit back and relax while your training provider looks at your loan terms. You can contact your training provider to ask about the status of your certification if you need more information.
Once the certification is returned, you’ll need to accept your final loan terms. Be sure to keep an eye on your dashboard and email for any notifications.
Yes, Non-US Citizens that meet certain eligibility criteria can apply for an Ascent College or Bootcamp Loan. Please see the required documentation and cosigner requirements below.
Permanent Resident
Required Documents:
Cosigner Requirements: You can apply as a solo applicant, or with a U.S Citizen or U.S Permanent Resident Cosigner
Temporary Resident:
Required Documents:
The following documents may also be submitted in lieu of a VISA and Social Security Card
Cosigner Requirements: A U.S Citizen or U.S Permanent Resident Cosigner will be required with your application.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA):
Required Documents:
Cosigner Requirements: You can apply as a solo applicant, or with a U.S Citizen or U.S Permanent Resident Cosigner
NOTE: The option to apply to release the cosigner after making twelve (12) consecutive full principal and interest payments on-time or an equivalent prepayment amount while also meeting the other eligibility criteria to qualify is only available to student borrowers that are U.S. citizens or have U.S. permanent resident status or DACA status. (See FAQ, “Can I eventually remove the cosigner from my loan?”)
The timeline for certification is dependent on your training provider. For now, all you need to do is sit back and relax while your training provider looks at your loan terms. You can contact your training provider to ask about the status of your certification if you need more information.
Once the certification is returned, you’ll need to accept your final loan terms. Be sure to keep an eye on your dashboard and email for any notifications.
“SOFR” stands for the Secured Overnight Financing Rate. SOFR is a benchmark rate that is published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY), which is based on the overnight borrowing costs of banks. The rate is determined based on the previous night’s activity on the U.S. Treasury repurchase (repo) market.
New variable rate Ascent loans applied for on or after January 1, 2022, will use the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) as the benchmark index, which will be reflected in your loan documents.
You have several monthly payment options, including automated payments! After you are approved for a loan, we’ll help you set up your repayment account with our loan servicer. Launch and Aspire are the loan servicers for Ascent’s bootcamp loans. Our servicers send your statements, process payments, and help you with any payment questions.
To pay your loan or ask questions about an existing loan visit AscentFunding.LaunchServicing.com or call 877-209-5297. If you applied for your loan on or before June 9, 2019, visit Aspire online or call 1-800-243-7552.
As of 2020, Ascent bootcamp borrowers have the option to enroll in Autopay. There are many benefits to making automatic payments on your loan with Autopay:
For more on Autopay, see the Automatic Payment Discount Terms & Conditions. Interest rate reduction of 0.25% applies only when the borrower and/or cosigner sign up for automatic payments and the payment amount is successfully deducted from the designated bank account each month. Interest rate reduction(s) will not apply during periods when no payment is due, including periods of in-school, deferment, grace or forbearance, unless a regular payment amount has been arranged with the servicer. If you have two (2) consecutive returned payments for Nonsufficient Funds, we may cancel your automatic debit enrollment and you will lose the interest rate reduction. You will then need to re-qualify and re-enroll in automatic debit payments to receive the interest rate reduction.
“LIBOR” stands for London Interbank Offered Rate. LIBOR is a benchmark rate that some of the world’s leading banks charge each other for short-term loans and is among the most common interest rate indices used to make adjustments to variable rate consumer loans.
LIBOR is being phased out and will eventually be unavailable for use with any consumer loan products. As a result, we’re working diligently to implement a replacement index.
New variable rate Ascent loans applied for on or after January 1, 2022, will use the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) as the benchmark index, which will be reflected in your loan documents.
Existing variable rate Ascent loans that use LIBOR as the benchmark index will continue to use LIBOR until we convert these loans to a replacement index, likely SOFR, at some point in 2022. We will keep you updated with important information about this conversion.
The quicker you move through your tasks, the quicker the process will be. As soon as you’re finished with your tasks, we can send your loan application to your school for certification. Then, your school will review your application and set your disbursement dates.
Your school may certify your college loan for a lower amount and/or change your graduation dates or disbursement dates, which will require you to accept the new terms. If your school fails to certify your loan, it will be denied.
If you are looking for information regarding your Ascent college loan application in process or pending disbursement(s):
If you have questions about an existing loan, such as payment, deferment or forbearance information, please contact Launch Servicing, who services loans on behalf of Ascent, at 877-209-5297 toll-free or log into the repayment portal at AscentFunding.LaunchServicing.com.
You can get either a 0.25% (for Credit-Based Loans) or 1.00% (for Undergraduate Outcomes-Based Loans) interest rate reduction (depending on loan terms) if payments on your Ascent loan are made by automatic payment. The Automatic Payment Discount is available if you are enrolled in automatic payments from your personal checking account and the amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. (See Automatic Payment Discount Terms & Conditions.)
No, you can reduce your total cost by making early payments! This is a benefit we hope our borrowers take advantage of. When you apply for a loan, we show you as many details as we can upfront. One of those details is the total cost of the loan, which is the total amount you’ll pay over the scheduled lifetime of the loan. Our calculation of the total cost assumes that you will pay off your loan by making monthly on-time minimum payments for your entire loan term, which is either 36 or 60 months. The total cost includes (1) the origination fee of 5% of your loan amount, (2) the loan amount, and (3) the interest accrued over the lifetime of the loan.
With our loans, you can make early payments or fully pay off your loan at any time with no prepayment fees. Many of our borrowers graduate from their programs, land jobs, and pay off their loans early! This is a financially smart move, because if you make early payments, you’ll accrue less interest over the lifetime of your loan. In summary – we don’t hold you to the total cost you see in your loan offers. If you make early payments, you can reduce the interest you accrue, which reduces your loan’s total cost!
You have several monthly payment options, including automated payments! After you are approved for a loan, we’ll help you set up your repayment account with our loan servicer. Launch and Aspire are the loan servicers for Ascent’s bootcamp loans. Our servicers send your statements, process payments, and help you with any payment questions.
To make payments on or ask questions about an existing loan, visit AscentFunding.LaunchServicing.com or call 877-209-5297. If you applied for your loan on or before June 9, 2019, visit Aspire online or call 1-800-243-7552.
For full details about Ascent’s Refer A Friend Program for college students, visit AscentFunding.com/Refer.
Here is how you can start referring your friends in college:
Ascent's college loans use a variable interest rate that is adjusted using the 30-day SOFR Average. (See FAQ, “What is SOFR?” for more info.)
Note: For all applications submitted for variable rate loans from Ascent on or after January 1, 2022, the benchmark or index used to determine the interest rates for those loans will be based on SOFR. Learn more.
Monthly payments are based on the loan amount, repayment term, interest rate and the selected repayment plan. Please see Ascent’s college loans’ repayment examples.
Yes, borrowers are eligible to receive the following incentives with Ascent’s college loans:
Ascent’s customer service team is 100% U.S.-based and is here to help you every step of the way.
For Ascent’s College Loans
While it is our hope that every student graduates and finds an awesome job in their chosen field, we understand that other circumstances may intervene.
If you are owed a refund by your school, Ascent will follow your school’s refund policies. Please refer to your school’s policies and agreements.
Regarding your tuition: You are responsible for the full amount you borrow, plus accrued interest and fees. If you are owed a refund by your partner school, the refund transaction will be made to Ascent in the amount of the refund due (but in no event greater than what that we paid to the school on your behalf). If there is a balance on your loan after any applied refund, you will be required to immediately start making monthly payments for the balance.
For Deferred Repayment, Interest-Only Repayment, or Immediate Repayment Loans, you will immediately begin making full (interest + principal) payments when you withdraw from your program. For Outcomes Loans or Deferred Tuition Loans, you will have a 3 month grace period after withdrawing from your program before you begin making payments.
Regarding any borrowed living expense funds: Because you’ve received the funds, you’re responsible for repaying them to Ascent. If there is a balance on your loan after any applied refund, you will be required to immediately start making monthly payments for the balance.
Ascent’s College Loan Type | In-School Period | Grace Period |
Undergraduate | Up to 60 months | 9 months |
Graduate – Medical | Up to 48 months | Up to 36 months |
Graduate – Dental | Up to 48 months | 12 months |
Graduate – Other (MBA, Law, Health Professionals, Nursing Pharmacy, MA, MS, PhD, etc.) | Up to 36 months | 9 months |
Ascent’s College Loan Type | In-School Period | Grace Period |
Undergraduate | Up to 60 months | 9 months |
Graduate – Medical | Up to 48 months | Up to 36 months |
Graduate – Dental | Up to 48 months | 12 months |
Graduate – Other (MBA, Law, Health Professionals, Nursing Pharmacy, MA, MS, PhD, etc.) | Up to 36 months | 9 months |
Yes! Ascent offers two deferred options for bootcamp loans to help you focus on your education and job search. To see if these options are available for your school and program, visit your school’s Ascent partnership page.
At Ascent, we partner with schools we believe in and help students pay their tuition and living expenses. We’ve now helped thousands of bootcamp students afford career training programs and raised the bar for quality and outcomes in education!
In partnership with leading schools, we’ve created a financing platform that is both transparent and student-first. We’re proud of the work we do!
Ascent offers private student loans to help undergraduate and graduate students pay for college.
Depending on your school and program, you’ll have the choice between several repayment plans. Your repayment plan will determine how and when you’ll repay your loan.
Before you apply, you can preview the loan options available for your school and program.
The quicker you move through your tasks, the quicker the process will be. As soon as you’re finished with your tasks, we can send your loan application to your school for certification. Then, your school will review your application and set your disbursement dates.
Your school may certify your college loan for a lower amount and/or change your graduation dates or disbursement dates, which will require you to accept the new terms. If your school fails to certify your loan, it will be denied.
Email your questions to [email protected]. Or talk to our knowledgable customer support associates.
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