Zero Percent Loan

From $2,000 to $5,700 and not to exceed the total cost of your program as certified by Merit America.

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 Zero Percent Loan: on your own or with a cosigner.  For the Merit America program applying with a cosigner will not change your loan terms or improve your chances of obtaining a loan.

To see if you pre-qualify for an Ascent Zero Percent Loan, submit an application. In the pre-qualification process, we’ll conduct a soft credit check with no impact to your credit score. After being conditionally approved and confirming your loan details, a hard credit check will be run to finalize the process.

Solo applicants must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or DACA recipients.  U.S. temporary residents may apply with a qualified U.S. citizen or permanent resident cosigner. All applicants must pass a credit review that checks for certain derogatory credit items; for example, as of 1/31/2024, certain derogatory credit items that may disqualify you are:

• You have accounts in collection greater than $25,000 (excluding medical debt or student loan debt)
• You are individually a debtor in open bankruptcy proceeding

This list is not intended to be exhaustive, and underwriting requirements may be subject to change. However, there is currently no minimum credit history or credit score required for loan approval for the Ascent Zero Percent loan.

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.

During the Merit America admissions process, Merit America will direct you to Ascent Funding to learn more about the Zero Percent Loan, and get all of your questions answered. When it’s time to apply for a Zero Percent Loan at the end of the Foundations phase, Merit America will direct you to the Zero Percent Loan application online.

You can submit an application and become pre-qualified for an Ascent Zero Percent Loan for Merit America. In the pre-qualification process, we’ll conduct a soft credit check with no impact to your credit score. Before accepting a loan offer, please ensure you have enrolled in your program.

You have several options, including automated payments! As part of your application process, you’ll have the option to enter your payment information. Repayment begins three months after completing your program. You’ll make monthly payments for 60 months. If after 60 months of qualifying payments a balance remains, your loan purchaser has indicated it will be forgiven.

If you are not earning a total income of at least $40,000 annually, you may defer repayment by getting in touch with your servicer. Launch Servicing is the servicer for your Ascent loan. This means Launch will collect your monthly payments during the repayment phase of your loan. Need to pay your loan? Have a question about repayment on an existing loan? Visit Launch online or at 1-877-209-5297. 

No, payments are not required during your program and while you’re in the three-month grace period immediately following completion or termination of your Merit America program.

You will not be charged an origination fee for Ascent’s Zero Percent Loan for Merit America.

Interest rate:

0% for all qualified applicants

Annual Percentage Rate (APR):

0%*

*These examples show no monthly payments while in program and for a 3 month grace period after completion, then full repayment for 60 months post grace period. See rates and repayment examples by program 

Merit America offers a refund in certain situations. If you meet the requirements of the Merit America Guarantee and do not obtain employment as defined within the Merit America Guarantee within 2 years after completing the Immersion phase of your program, you may be eligible for a refund or cancellation of your loan. Please refer to the Merit America Guarantee and get in touch with a Merit America representative for more details.

If you are not earning a total income of at least $40,000 annually, you may contact Launch Servicing at any time to request an Unemployment / Underemployment Deferment under which payments may be postponed.

If you leave during the Foundations phase of the program, you won’t commit to pay your tuition and you’ll never pay anything for the program. See Merit America’s policies for more information.

Otherwise, you will have a three-month grace period after withdrawing from your program before you enter repayment. The first payment is due shortly thereafter (typically within 30 to 45 days from the end of the grace period), after which monthly payments are required over the 60-month repayment term.

If you are not earning a total income of at least $40,000 annually, then you may be able to take advantage of the Underemployed / Unemployed deferment option.

In order to use this option, please follow these steps:

• DEFERMENT BY CALLING: Call the loan servicer, Launch Servicing at 1-877-209-5297. Please have your 9-digit account number (for Launch) ready or the last 4 of your Social Security Number. The representative will ask you for your information. Once they are able to verify your identity, you will need to request with the representative that you want to use the Underemployed/Unemployed deferment option. From there, the representative will ask you some questions, and once answered satisfactorily, your account may then be put into deferment. The representative may ask to send you a postponement form to fill out and return for review before the deferment can be applied. It can take up to 10 business days for Launch to process.
• DEFERMENT VIA POSTPONEMENT FORM: Visit the website AscentFunding.com/Postponement and fill out the request form. Please have your 9-digit account number (for Launch) ready and the last 4-digits of your Social Security Number. For the question, “What type of Ascent loan do you have?” select “Bootcamp – Zero Percent Loan.” Under Reason for Deferment – Zero Percent Loan check the box for Unemployed or underemployed and fill in applicable fields listed below. Press “submit” once the form is filled out and upload the applicable documentation in the portal. It can take up to 10 business days for Launch to process and your account may then be put into deferment.

You will need to reach out every 3 months for the deferment to continue. You may request a deferment up to 30 days before your payment due date.

Please note this process is subject to change and Ascent will do its best to update any new procedures in a timely manner. You can always reach out to Launch Servicing directly for the most updated deferment information. They can be reached at 1-877-209-5297 or https://ascentfunding.launchservicing.com/.

Please note that if your circumstances do not fit the criteria for the Underemployed/Unemployed deferment and you find that you are unable to make payments, please contact the loan servicer, Launch Servicing for additional forbearance options. They can be reached at 1-877-209-5297 or https://ascentfunding.launchservicing.com/.

Yes, you can request to cancel or decrease your loan after you apply. Log in to your Ascent account at bootcamp.ascentfunding.com or reach out to [email protected] to request changes to your loan.

If funds haven’t been sent to your school, Ascent can easily process a request to cancel or decrease your loan.  If funds have already been sent to your school, we’ll follow your school’s refund policy.

Please note that Ascent can’t increase your loan amount after you apply. Instead, you may be able to cancel your loan and reapply for a greater loan amount.

Yes, you can prepay your loan at any time without penalty. You have the flexibility to make early payments or fully pay off your loan without prepayment fees.

To see the status of your loan application, visit your Ascent account dashboard at bootcamp.ascentfunding.com. We’ll also send you emails throughout the process to keep you updated. You can save your progress in the application and return to it at any time.

Yes. Individuals may apply as a borrower or cosigner based on their citizenship status as follows:

• U.S. Permanent Residents – as a solo borrower, as a cosigner or as a borrower with a qualified cosigner.
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status – as a solo borrower or as a borrower with a qualified cosigner.
• U.S. Temporary Residents – as a borrower with a qualified cosigner only.

Documentation requirements: The following are documentation will be required to verify your individual resident status:

• For U.S. Permanent Residents: Provide a Permanent Resident Card.
• For DACA status: Provide documentation from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security / U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that indicates DACA status that does not expire within 6-months of the end of the enrollment period for which the loan is being requested.
• For U.S. Temporary Residents:
• A VISA that does not expire within 6-months of the end of the enrollment period for which the loan is being requested. with an acceptable category as follows: F-1, F-3, G Series, H-1B, H-1C, H-2B, H-3, J-1, L-1, M-1, M-3, T-1, TN, V1

OR

• An I-20 Form (pages 1 & 2 and signed by the school) and an unexpired passport from country of origin.

OR

• Form I-797, Notice of Action and unexpired passport from country of origin from an eligible Temporary Protected Status country from this list: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status.

U.S. temporary residents may apply with a qualified U.S. citizen or permanent resident cosigner. 

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. 

Zero Percent Loan borrowers have the option to enroll in autopay. There are many benefits to making automatic payments on your loan with autopay:

• Statement Credit: As of January 31, 2024, if you sign up for autopay when you apply for your loan, you will receive a statement credit on your loan balance!
• Avoid stress and late fees. With autopay, your monthly loan payments are automatic, so you’ll never have to worry about missing a loan payment or paying late fees.
• Protect your credit: Making monthly, on-time payments on a loan is one of the best ways to help maintain your credit health. Autopay protects your credit by making sure you pay your loan on time every month.

You can manage your loan and set up autopay through the AscentConnect mobile app or through Launch, your loan servicer:

• Visit and download the AscentConnect mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and login using the same credentials as your Ascent account.
• Visit AscentFunding.LaunchServicing.com or by calling 877-209-5297.

For more on autopay, see the Automatic Payment Discount Terms & Conditions for Zero Percent Loans Only.  Automatic Payment Discount statement credit will be applied to outstanding loan balance within 90 days of first payment due date.

Richland State Bank, member FDIC, is the lender for all Ascent career training loans (including the Zero Percent Loan).

No, they’re consumer loans to help pay for tuition at our partner schools.

There are several key differences, and we encourage applicants to perform their own research into this topic. However, some of the high-level differences between an Ascent consumer loan for bootcamps and a private student loan include:

• For private student loans, interest paid may be tax-deductible. For consumer loans for bootcamps, interest is not tax-deductible. Please consult your tax advisor to determine if this applies to you.
• Consumer loans for bootcamps may be treated differently in the event of a borrower bankruptcy.
• Private student loans may typically only be used for qualified education expenses as defined by the IRS.
• Ascent’s private college loans may be eligible for cosigner removal, while the career training loans are not.