What are others saying about Ascent?
Ascent stands out for its range of payment reduction and postponement options, rare among private lenders. Borrowers can choose a graduated repayment plan, which provides a lower monthly payment to start that increases over time. Read more
We are recognizing Ascent with our Editor’s Choice™ Award as Top Private Student Loan Provider thanks to the company’s student-focused efforts and innovative loan options. Read more
The best thing about Ascent is the fact that they make the process easy. I was able to do everything online and the money was sent directly to my school.
They talked to me and helped me out in the most possible way. They made sure I got the most that I possibly could.
Cosigned
Credit-Based Loan
For students with a creditworthy cosigner
ELIGIBILITY:
- Enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school
- Must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident or have a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status
- Must have an eligible cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident
- International students also may apply with a creditworthy cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident. - See eligibility requirements.
REPAYMENT OPTIONS (available while enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school and during Grace Period)*:
- Deferred Repayment
- Interest-Only Repayment
- $25 Minimum Payment
TERMS*:
- 5, 7, 10, 12 or 15-Years
(No penalty for early repayment)
GRACE PERIOD:
- Postpone full principal and interest payments up to 9-months after graduation or leaving the program, or otherwise dropping to less than half-time enrollment status
Non-Cosigned
Credit-Based Loan
For students without a cosigner who qualify based on credit and minimum income
ELIGIBILITY:
- Enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school
- Must be a U.S. citizen, U.S.permanent resident or have a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status with a valid social security number
- Must have at least 2 years of credit history and meet credit and minimum income requirements
REPAYMENT OPTIONS (available while enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school and during Grace Period)*:
- Deferred Repayment
- Interest-Only Repayment
- $25 Minimum Payment
TERMS*:
- 5, 7, 10, 12 or 15-Years
(No penalty for early repayment)
GRACE PERIOD:
- Postpone full principal and interest payments up to 9-months after graduation or leaving the program, or otherwise dropping to less than half-time enrollment status
Non-Cosigned
Outcomes-Based Loan
For juniors and seniors who meet our credit criteria
ELIGIBILITY:
- Enrolled as a junior or senior full-time OR half-time within 9-months of graduation at an eligible school
- Must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident or have a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status with a valid social security number
- Must maintain GPA of 3.0+ AND meet your school’s Satisfactory Academic Performance (SAP)
REPAYMENT OPTIONS (available while enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school and during Grace Period)*:
- Deferred Repayment
TERMS*:
- 10 or 15-Years
(No penalty for early repayment)
GRACE PERIOD:
- Postpone full principal and interest payments up to 9-months after graduation or leaving the program, or otherwise dropping to less than half-time enrollment status
MBA
Student Loans
For graduate students persuing their MBA with or without a cosigner.
ELIGIBILITY:
- Enrolled at least half-time
- Must be a U.S. citizen or have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status with or without an eligible cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- International students may apply with a creditworthy cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
REWARDS:
- 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward
- Scholarship giveaways on social media
- Refer a Friend: Earn up to $525 for each friend you refer
REPAYMENT OPTIONS (available while enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school and during Grace Period)*:
- Deferred Repayment: Start payments up to 9 months after leaving school
- In School Interest-Only Repayment
- $25 Minimum Payment
TERMS*:
- 7, 10, 12 or 15-Years
(No penalty for early repayment)
GRACE PERIOD:
- Postpone full principal and interest payments up to 9-months after graduation or leaving the program, or otherwise dropping to less than half-time enrollment status
EXTENDED IN-SCHOOL PERIOD:
- Maximum in-school period is 36 months
Medical School
Student Loans
For graduate students persuing their MD, DO, DVM, VMD, or DPM with or without a cosigner.
ELIGIBILITY:
- Enrolled at least half-time
- Must be a U.S. citizen or have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status with or without an eligible cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- International students may apply with a creditworthy cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
REWARDS:
- 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward
- Scholarship giveaways on social media
- Refer a Friend: Earn up to $525 for each friend you refer
REPAYMENT OPTIONS (available while enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school and during Grace Period)*:
- Deferred Repayment: Start payments up to 36 months after leaving school
- In School Interest-Only Repayment
- $25 Minimum Payment
TERMS*:
- 7, 10, 12, 15 or 20-Years
(No penalty for early repayment)
GRACE PERIOD:
- Postpone full principal and interest payments up to 36-months after graduation or leaving the program, or otherwise dropping to less than half-time enrollment status
EXTENDED IN-SCHOOL PERIOD:
- Maximum in-school period is 48 months
Dental School
Student Loans
For graduate students persuing their DMD or DDS with or without a cosigner.
ELIGIBILITY:
- Enrolled at least half-time
- Must be a U.S. citizen or have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status with or without an eligible cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- International students may apply with a creditworthy cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
REWARDS:
- 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward
- Scholarship giveaways on social media
- Refer a Friend: Earn up to $525 for each friend you refer
REPAYMENT OPTIONS (available while enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school and during Grace Period)*:
- Deferred Repayment: Start payments up to 12 months after leaving school
- In School Interest-Only Repayment
- $25 Minimum Payment
TERMS*:
- 7, 10, 12, 15 or 20-Years
(No penalty for early repayment)
GRACE PERIOD:
- Postpone full principal and interest payments up to 12-months after graduation or leaving the program, or otherwise dropping to less than half-time enrollment status
EXTENDED IN-SCHOOL PERIOD:
- Maximum in-school period is 48 months
Law School
Student Loans
For graduate students persuing their JD or LLM with or without a cosigner.
ELIGIBILITY:
- Enrolled at least half-time
- Must be a U.S. citizen or have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status with or without an eligible cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- International students may apply with a creditworthy cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
REWARDS:
- 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward
- Scholarship giveaways on social media
- Refer a Friend: Earn up to $525 for each friend you refer
REPAYMENT OPTIONS (available while enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school and during Grace Period)*:
- Deferred Repayment: Start payments up to 9 months after leaving school
- In School Interest-Only Repayment
- $25 Minimum Payment
TERMS*:
- 7, 10, 12 or 15-Years
(No penalty for early repayment)
GRACE PERIOD:
- Postpone full principal and interest payments up to 9-months after graduation or leaving the program, or otherwise dropping to less than half-time enrollment status
EXTENDED IN-SCHOOL PERIOD:
- Maximum in-school period is 36 months
General Graduate
Student Loans
For graduate students persuing their MA, MS, PhD, or other graduate school programs with or without a cosigner.
ELIGIBILITY:
- Enrolled at least half-time
- Must be a U.S. citizen or have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status with or without an eligible cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- International students may apply with a creditworthy cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
REWARDS:
- 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward
- Scholarship giveaways on social media
- Refer a Friend: Earn up to $525 for each friend you refer
REPAYMENT OPTIONS (available while enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school and during Grace Period)*:
- Deferred Repayment: Start payments up to 9 months after leaving school
- In School Interest-Only Repayment
- $25 Minimum Payment
TERMS*:
- 7, 10, 12 or 15-Years
(No penalty for early repayment)
GRACE PERIOD:
- Postpone full principal and interest payments up to 9-months after graduation or leaving the program, or otherwise dropping to less than half-time enrollment status
EXTENDED IN-SCHOOL PERIOD:
- Maximum in-school period is 36 months
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Have questions about student loans?
We have answers.
Ascent Funding is an award-winning lender, committed to revolutionizing how you pay for higher education at colleges and coding bootcamps. Ascent empowers students from all economic backgrounds and disciplines (including DACA students) to maximize the return on their education with resources such as our Bright Futures Engine, Bootcamp Selector, and financial wellness tips. To set students up for success, we offer scholarships (over $80,000 this year) andexclusive benefits for students.
Ascent offers loan products to help undergraduate and graduate students pay for higher education.
Undergraduate students have the option to apply for a Cosigned Credit-Based Loan, Non-Cosigned Credit-Based Loan or Non-Cosigned Outcomes-Based Loan (for eligible juniors and seniors – see eligibility requirements.)
Graduate students have the option to apply for a Cosigned Credit-Based Loan or Non-Cosigned Credit-Based Loan. Ascent created customized repayment terms for:
Business School (MBA)
Dental School (DMD, DDS)
Law School (JD, LLM)
Medical School (MD, DO, DVM, VMD, DPM)
General Graduate School (Health Professionals, Nursing, Pharmacy, MA, MS, PhD, etc.)
The Ascent Student Loan program provides more opportunities to qualify for a loan with a cosigner or without a cosigner. Ascent also offers credit-based loans for graduate students. Ascent loans are competitively priced. You can choose from affordable fixed or variable rates, customize your repayment terms, and pay off your loan early without any penalty.
In addition, Ascent offers benefits that can help save money with a 1% Cash Back Reward upon graduation and an Automatic Payment Discount of at least 0.25% for Credit-Based Loans and in some cases up to 1.00% for Undergraduate Non-Cosigned Outcomes-Based Loans. The Automatic Payment Discount is available if the borrower is enrolled in automatic payments from their personal checking account and the amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month.
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 that are a U.S. citizen or have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status may apply without a cosigner. Students that 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.