Fund Your Future

Ascent helps Thinkful students pay tuition. We offer simple, straightforward consumer loans with flexible payment options. You deserve a valuable education, and we think financing it should be easy.

Real reviews from real customers

Our flexible payment options

Loans built with you in mind

Program

Borrow up to $17600 for tuition and up to $0 for living expenses for the program at Thinkful. Living expense loan only available with Deferred Tuition Loan.

Deferred Tuition

Make no payments until you receive a qualifying job offer or 6 months after graduation.

Preview your monthly payments

Budget for your loan from start to finish. Adjust the options below to see possible monthly payments for your loan.

Monthly payment calculator

Adjust the loan amount, interest rate, and repayment details to find the right option for you. The loan calculator displays example monthly payments. Loan options, interest rate, and APR depend on credit profile and program.

Monthly Repayment Plan

Deferred Tuition No payments until you receive a qualifying job offer or 6 months after graduation

Loan Term

36 Months 36 full monthly payments

Tuition Loan Amount

0 10000

You can borrow up to $17600 for this program.

Living Expense Loan Amount

0 10000

You can borrow up to $0 for living expenses for this program.

Interest Rate

6.5 13.5

Your Example

Tuition Loan

In-school payments

$83

Post-school payments

$230

Total loan amount

$5,000

Total cost of loan

$6,500

Interest rate

6.5%

APR*

5.0%

*APR - Annual Percentage Rate

This example shows no monthly payments while in school and for a 6 month grace period after completion, then full repayment for 36 months post-school.

Your Example

Tuition Loan

In-school payments

$83

Post-school payments

$230

Total loan amount

$5,000

Total cost of loan

$6,500

Interest rate

6.5%

APR*

5.0%

*APR - Annual Percentage Rate

This example shows no monthly payments while in school and for a 6 month grace period after completion, then full repayment for 36 months post-school.

Your Example

Tuition Loan

In-school payments

$83

Post-school payments

$230

Total loan amount

$5,000

Total cost of loan

$6,500

Interest rate

6.5%

APR*

5.0%

*APR - Annual Percentage Rate

This example shows no monthly payments while in school and for a 6 month grace period after completion, then full repayment for 36 months post-school.

Your Example

Living Expense Loan

In-school payments

$83

Post-school payments

$230

Total loan amount

$5,000

Total cost of loan

$6,500

Interest rate

6.5%

APR*

5.0%

*APR - Annual Percentage Rate

This example shows no monthly payments while in school and for a 6 month grace period after completion, then full repayment for 36 months post-school. This assumes that you borrow $1,500/month in living expenses for 6 months during your program.

Your Example

Tuition Loan + Living Expense Loan Combined

Combined in-school payments

$83

Combined post-school payments

$230

Interest rate

6.5%

Combined total loan amounts

$5,000

Combined total cost of loans

$6,500

Combined APR*

5.0%

*APR - Annual Percentage Rate

This example shows the Example Tuition Loan and Example Living Expense Loan combined so you can preview your total monthly payments and costs for both loans. This shows no monthly payments while in school and for a 6 month grace period after completion, then full repayment for 36 months post-school.

Available loan options

Finance your tuition at Thinkful. Select your program to view available loan options.

Data Analytics Flex

How much can I borrow for tuition?

From $2,000.00 up to $10,300.00.

Data Science Flex

How much can I borrow for tuition?

From $2,000.00 up to $12,000.00.

Digital Marketing Flex

How much can I borrow for tuition?

From $2,000.00 up to $6,758.00.

Engineering Flex

How much can I borrow for tuition?

From $2,000.00 up to $12,600.00.

Technical Project Management Flex

How much can I borrow for tuition?

From $2,000.00 up to $8,400.00.

UX/UI Design Flex

How much can I borrow for tuition?

From $2,000.00 up to $15,600.00.

Data Analytics Immersion

How much can I borrow for tuition?

From $2,000.00 up to $14,960.00.

Engineering Immersion

How much can I borrow for tuition?

From $2,000.00 up to $17,600.00.

UX/UI Design Immersion

How much can I borrow for tuition?

From $2,000.00 up to $16,470.00.

Frequently asked loan questions

Can I add a cosigner?

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.

What is the loan’s origination fee?

You will be charged an origination fee of 5.0%. This will be added to the amount you borrow and is included in the total loan principal amount you finance. It helps cover the administrative fees associated with originating the loan. It is the only fee charged for taking out this loan, and it affects your loan’s Annual Percentage Rate. See repayment examples

What is the loan’s interest rate?

Deferred Tuition Loan

Interest Rates: 11.5% for all approved borrowers

Annual Percentage Rate: 13.09% – 13.60% depending on when the student begins repayment

See examples >

Are payments required while I am in school?

Deferred Tuition Loan: No, payments are not required in school.

What is the repayment term for both the loan principal and interest?

Once you’ve begun full repayment (after the grace and/or interest only period), your loan term will be 36 months. See example

How and when will I repay my loan?

You have several options, including automated payments! After you apply for a loan, we’ll help you set up your repayment account. Deferred Tuition allows you to defer repayment for up to a year after you complete your program, or when you receive a qualifying job offer (as determined by the Thinkful Course Catalog).

With a Deferred Tuition Loan combined with the Thinkful Tuition Refund Guarantee, you won’t make payments until you receive an offer for a qualifying position making at least $40,000 annually or $3,333/month pre-tax for 3 months or more. Once you receive a qualifying job/contract offer, you’ll begin making full (interest + principal) payments. If you do not receive a qualifying offer within six months of completing your program and you meet the requirements of the Thinkful Tuition Refund Guarantee, your tuition loan will be canceled and you will owe nothing.

You’ll make monthly payments until your loan is fully repaid, and we’re happy to say there’s no prepayment penalty or fee for early payments on Ascent loans. You can choose to pay the minimum monthly payment, or you can make larger payments. You have the flexibility to pay off your loan anytime before your loan term ends!

Aspire and Launch are the loan servicers for Ascent’s loans. This means Aspire or Launch will collect your monthly payments during the repayment phase of your loan. All loans applied for on or before June 9th, 2019 will be serviced by Aspire. All loans applied for on or after June 10th, 2019 will be serviced by Launch.

Need to pay your loan? Have a question about repayment on an existing loan?

If you applied for your loan on or before June 9th, 2019, visit Aspire online or call 1-800-243-7552.
If you applied for your loan on or after June 10th, 2019, visit AscentFunding.LaunchServicing.com or call 877-209-5297.

Will my loan be refunded if I don’t get a job?

Please reach out to Thinkful for more information.

What if I don’t complete my program?

Regarding your borrowed tuition funds:

You are responsible for repaying the full amount you borrow, plus accrued interest and fees.
If you are owed a tuition refund by your school, Ascent will follow your school’s refund policies. Please refer to your school’s refund policies and student agreements. Please contact your school for any questions regarding a standard refund.
If you are owed a tuition refund by your school, the refund transaction will be made to Ascent in the amount of the refund due (but in no event greater than what 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 make monthly payments for the balance.
You will have a 3 month grace period after withdrawing from your program before you begin making payments.

Will I qualify for an Ascent 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.

Can non-U.S. citizens apply?

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-3, J-1, L-1, M-1, M-3, T-1, TN

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

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.

Who is Richland State Bank and how is it related to Ascent?

Richland State Bank, member FDIC, is the lender for all Ascent bootcamp loans.

Are Ascent bootcamp loans student loans?

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

Given that Ascent loans are not private student loans, what are some of the key differences between consumer loans for bootcamps and private student loans?

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.

Can I cancel or change my loan after I apply?

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.

When should I apply for a loan?

You can submit an application and become pre-qualified as early as 90 days before your program. In the pre-qualification process, we’ll conduct a soft credit check with no impact to your credit score. Before accepting a loan option, please ensure you have enrolled in your program.

Can I pay off my loan faster than the initial term?

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.

What’s the difference between fixed rates and variable rates?

Your interest rate is the base cost of borrowing money for the duration of your loan and is a percentage of the principal loan amount. It can be fixed (it will not change) or variable (it could change over time). Variable interest rates can increase or decrease throughout the life of your loan, which may result in your monthly payment changing over time. All Ascent loans for Thinkful are fixed rate – your rate won’t go up!

What is the status of my application?

To see the status of your loan application, visit your Ascent account dashboard at bootcamp.ascentfunding.com/login. 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.

Do I have to pay the full “total cost” of the loan shown in my loan offer even if I make early payments?

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 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!

Our team is here to help.

For any additional questions, please complete this form.

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