Ascent Private Student Loans: 2024 Review - NerdWallet (2024)

• Generous forbearance options.

• Offers co-signed and non-co-signed credit-based loan borrowers multiple in-school repayment options including interest-only, flat-fee and deferred.

• Borrowers who don’t have a co-signer or credit history can qualify.

• DACA students can qualify with or without a co-signer.

• Advertised interest rates below 9% for non-co-signed loans.

• Interest rates, fees and terms

  • Soft credit check to qualify and see what rate you’ll get: Yes.

  • Interest rates: 4.09% - 15.71% (with co-signer); 12.94% - 14.93% (without co-signer). This includes the autopay discount.

  • Loan terms: Five, 7, 10, 12, 15 or 20-year repayment terms available

  • Loan amounts: $2,001 minimum to $200,000 over the lifetime of a borrower for undergraduate loans, or up to $400,000 for graduate loans. The amount for each loan period cannot exceed the total cost of attendance.

  • Application or origination fee: No.

  • Prepayment penalty: No.

    See Also

    Federal Student Loan Interest Rates Just IncreasedAscent Student Loans Review 2024Undergraduate Student Loans | Ascent FundingPrivate Student Loans | Ascent Funding

  • Late fees: No.

  Compare Ascent's range of interest rates with private student loan lenders. Your actual rate will depend on factors including your co-signer's credit history and financial situation. To see what rate Ascent will offer you, apply on its website.

• Requirements

  Financial

  • Minimum credit score: Students and cosigners must meet a minimum credit score, except that student borrowers that apply with a qualified cosigner and certain outcomes-based solo students may be eligible with no credit score. For the non-co-signed credit-based loan, the student must meet minimum income and DTI requirements and at least two years of credit history.

  • Minimum income: $24,000 for the current and previous year.

  • Typical credit score of approved borrowers or co-signers: Did not disclose.

  • Typical income of approved borrowers: Did not disclose.

  • Maximum debt-to-income ratio: Did not disclose.

  • Can qualify if you’ve filed for bankruptcy: Did not disclose.

  Other

  • Citizenship: Borrowers can be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, international or DACA students. International students must have an eligible U.S. citizen or permanent resident co-signer. The same requirements apply to co-signers.

  • DACA borrowers: Eligible.

  • Location: Available to borrowers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Also available in American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands.

  • Must be enrolled half-time or more: Yes. Non-co-signed outcomes-based borrowers must also meet satisfactory academic performance requirements with a 3.0 GPA or higher.

  • Loans can be used for past due tuition: Yes.

  • Types of schools served: An eligible school, typically traditional two-year or four-year degree-granting institutions.

  • Percentage of borrowers who have a co-signer: 77%.

• Repayment options

  In-school repayment options for co-signed loan borrowers:

  • Deferred repayment: No payments while you’re in school and until your grace period ends nine months after leaving school or dropping below half-time. Since there are no prepayment penalties, you may opt to make payments sooner. Interest will continue to accrue while you’re in school whether you pay or not. The interest that accrues will capitalize, or be added to your principal balance, at the end of your grace period.

  • Flat-fee repayment: Pay $25 every month while enrolled in school and during the grace period. This option will save you more than deferred repayment, but slightly less than interest-only repayment. You can pay a set monthly payment while enrolled in school at least half-time.

  • In-school interest-only repayment: Pay interest every month you’re enrolled at least half-time in school and during the grace period. This option will likely save you the most money.

  • Immediate repayment: Borrowers can make full payments — including interest and principal — while enrolled in school. Payments start 30 to 60 days after the loan is paid out. This option, with the exception of Outcomes-based loans, are only available to loans obtained on or after June 3, 2024.

  Post-school and non-co-signed loan repayment options

  • Grace period: 9 months.

  • Income based repayment option: No.

  • In-school deferment: Yes, students enrolled at least half-time are eligible for up to 48 months of deferment.

  • Internship deferment: Yes.

  • Residency deferment: Yes.

  • Administrative deferment: Yes.

  • Fellowship deferment: Yes.

  • Graduated repayment: Yes, borrowers who have graduated or are enrolled less than half-time may be eligible for Ascent’s Progressive Repayment option if they took out an Ascent Loan on or after May 17, 2019. This option requires monthly payment amounts that start with an amount that is less than a fully-amortizing payment amount that step-up over time so the loan will be fully paid within the original loan term.

  • Military deferment: Yes, active-duty service members can defer payments for a cumulative 36 months.

  • Reduced payments for medical and dental residents: Bachelor’s degree holders can defer payments if accepted into a residency or internship program for up to 48 months.

  • Forbearance: Up to 12 consecutive months and 24 months in aggregate. Forbearance will extend the loan’s repayment term, and interest will continue to accrue on the loan.

  • Co-signer release available: Yes, for the co-signed loan option, after 12 months.

  • Death or disability discharge: Yes, the loan is forgiven if the student dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled.

  • Loan discharge if co-signer dies or becomes disabled: No.

  Repayment preferences

  • Allows greater-than-minimum payments via autopay: Yes.

  • Allows biweekly payments via autopay: Yes.

  See Also

  Avant Personal Loans & Debt Consolidation Review (2024)

• Customer service

  • Loan servicer: Launch Servicing.

  • In-house customer service team: Yes.

  • Process for escalating concerns: Yes.

  • Borrowers get assigned a dedicated banker, advisor or representative: No.

  • Average time from application to approval: Immediately for complete applications for which all credit and income information is available.

• Extras

  • Cash-back reward: Borrowers are eligible for a 1% cash-back graduation reward applied to your loan principal, upon satisfaction of certain terms and conditions.

  • Online financial literacy course: If you’re approved for a loan, you’ll need to take a brief course before receiving funding.

  • Refer a Friend Program: Borrowers and those they refer to Ascent can earn a $400 Amazon Gift Card. Both will receive the card once the loan is accepted, certified and disbursed to the referral’s school. Borrowers can receive up to $10,000 in Amazon Gift Cards each calendar year.

  • Scholarship Giveaways: Ascent gives away over $80,000 in scholarships annually for students in college or bootcamps. Learn more through Ascent's Instagram.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s FAFSA Guide

If you don’t have access to a co-signer — or still aren’t eligible with one — consider lenders that don’t require co-signers or specialize in bad or no credit student loans.