You’ve toured colleges and explored various majors, and now you’ve made your decision. The next step is figuring out how to pay for tuition, books, room and board, and other essential expenses. While scholarships and savings can help, they often fall short. This is where student loans come into play. In fact, about 70% of college students rely on loans to bridge the financial gap.
The first step for many students is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form provides access to federal financial aid, which generally offers better terms, such as lower interest rates and flexible repayment plans. However, federal aid sometimes isn’t enough, and that’s when private student loans become an option worth considering.
Navigating private student loans can feel like navigating a maze, with numerous options, each having its own terms and conditions. Comparing these loans can be like comparing apples to oranges, as interest rates, repayment terms, and loan limits vary significantly between lenders. It can be overwhelming to understand these differences and find the right loan for your needs. In this article, we’ll delve into the details of one such lender to help you navigate this complex landscape.
Ascent is one of these options.
About Ascent
Ascent Funding is a subsidiary of Goal Structured Solutions Inc. (GS2), a financial company specializing in student loan solutions. Their mission is to provide students with more opportunities to finance their education which are accessible and flexible to meet the diverse needs of students.
They do this by streamlining the application process and offering tools and resources to help students understand and manage their loans effectively.
Ascent is a loan processor that uses financial institutions to fund the loans. Historically, private loans were funded by Richland State Bank, Member FDIC. Since July of 2023, the lender is DR Bank, Member FDIC.
Ascent has a great reputation among industry leaders, earning 2 NerdWallet awards in 2023 and accolades from Forbes Advisor.
The company, which is headquartered in San Diego, has also won awards as a Best Place to Work. For a more personal touch, the Board, Management Team, and Team Members are all pictured on their website.
Ranking 10/10 as Ascent is well-respected in the student loan sector.
Our Process
As with all loans, there are several things to consider. These will be based on where you are attending school, how much you need to borrow, your (and if you have cosigners) credit scores, interest rates of the loan, and repayment terms.
We’re going to outline the features of Ascent and how they compare to other lenders on a scale of 1 to 10 (A few factors we gave more weight to and those will be pointed out below.)
Overall Ranking
After looking at more than 15 factors and comparing the most popular private student loans on the market, we’ve given Ascent a 5 out of a possible 5 ranking. This tied for our top ranking, with only a few categories less than perfect in our analysis.
Keep reading to explore the details of applying for and obtaining a loan with Ascent and to understand how we arrived at this ranking.
Note: While Ascent has several student loan programs, we specifically looked at the Ascent Cosigned Student Loan for our analysis.
Who Can Apply?
To qualify for a private student loan with Ascent, students must be attending or enrolled to attend an eligible institution. Students must be US citizens, permanent residents, or have a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status.
Non-US citizens may apply with the required documentation and a cosigner who is a US Citizen or US Permanent Resident.
Loans will be granted to students who are enrolled full or part-time.
Those applying on their own must meet minimum credit scores, Income requirements, and debt-to-income ratios. You are more likely to qualify for a loan if you have a cosigner, which could be a parent, relative, spouse, friend, or mentor.
Other factors that may affect loan approval include the school, program, cost of attendance, GPA, and enrollment status.
While this did not factor into our rankings, your choice of school is a big deciding factor on whether you can apply for any loan.
What is the maximum loan amount?
Ascent covers up to 100% of your cost of attending school and other school-related expenses, with a cap of $200,000 for all student loans. Depending on your state, the minimum loan amount is either $2,001 or $6,001.
Qualifying expenses include tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation, and personal expenses.
You are encouraged to apply for federal aid before applying for a private student loan. Use private student loans to make up the balance.
To ensure you take out enough loans to pay for college, but not too much to have you drowning in debt, you’ll need to do some calculations. One rule of thumb is to not borrow more than what you anticipate you will earn in your first year in the working world.
Are there any fees to apply?
In addition to the cost of the student loan, lenders often add other fees for setting up and maintaining the loan. These costs can accumulate, so it’s wise to find a lender that waives them. Ascent does not charge application, origination, or disbursement fees.
This helps borrowers budget their student loan costs more effectively, ensuring that more of the loan amount goes towards actual educational expenses.
This is a definite plus. The lower the fees, the more affordable the loan is over time.
Ranking 10/10 because less fees are always a plus!
Can I pay the loan off early?
There is no penalty for paying off your loan early, and if you decide to make extra payments along the way, there are no fees or penalties.
Ascent offers several repayment options, and whether you qualify depends on the type of loan and whether you have a cosigner. If you don’t have a cosigner, you must have at least 2 years of credit history, have a minimum FICO score, be prequalified, and have a minimum gross annual income of $24,000.
If you don’t qualify, you may be required to start paying on your loan immediately. While not an ideal situation for everyone, it will give you a head start on becoming debt-free and will result in the lowest-cost loan.
If you meet the qualifications, you may be eligible for other payment options or deferred payments.
The $25 Minimum Repayment and Interest-Only Repayment options are available as long as you are enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school and during the grace period. This gives you a smaller head start and helps build credit.
Third, you can wait until you graduate to start making payments. Keep in mind that your interest is accumulating while you are not making payments, so the cost of your loan will rise during this period.
Once you leave school, there is a 9-month grace period for undergraduate loans, before you must start making loan payments.
While interest will accumulate no matter what option you choose, not having to worry about payments until after graduation allows students to focus on their studies without immediate financial burden.
This is a plus, offering flexibility depending on your financial situation.
Ranking 10/10 because of multiple repayment options.
While not required, it is strongly encouraged that borrowers enroll in AutoPay. There are interest rate incentives, up to 1.00% You will also avoid stress and late fees and protect your credit. If you are late or miss a payment, you will lose this rate incentive.
Ranking 8/15 as Ascent stresses auto-debit in their terms, while other lenders clearly offer multiple options. Note that we gave more weight to this category because it’s an important factor for borrowers when managing repayments.
As mentioned, Ascent has a 9-month grace period for undergraduate student loans. Some graduate loans have a longer grace period.
Ranking is 10/10 for the longer-than-standard grace period.
Are there payment deferment options?
Private loans typically offer fewer deferment options compared to federal loans, making them less flexible if financial difficulties arise.
Private loans also lack federal protections, such as forgiveness programs and extensive deferment options, which can be crucial for some borrowers.
Ascent has several deferment options, including Active Duty Military Deferment, In-School Deferment, Residency/Internship Deferment, Temporary Hardship Forbearance, Administrative Forbearance, and Natural Disaster/Declared Emergency Forbearance.
If you are having trouble making loan payments, contact Ascent Funding as soon as possible for options.
Ranking 10 out of 10 due to several payment options and several situations where a deferment may be granted. As always, read the fine print and ask tons of questions on this and every other category.
Do I need a parent to cosign the loan?
While some students can qualify for student loans themselves, they likely will need a cosigner to qualify for a larger loan. This person is generally a parent, relative, or any responsible adult with established good credit.
The cosigner must meet the same eligibility requirements as an independent borrower.
Ascent offers a cosigner release option after 12 months of on-time principal and interest payments. The student would then be solely responsible for the payments.
We consider this a pro as it offers the cosigner an opportunity to release themselves from the loan if they choose.
Ranking 15 out of 15 due to the cosigner release option after 12 months. Note that we gave more weight to this factor and 12 months is the lowest period of time among all the lenders we rated.
The better the credit rating of the borrowers or their cosigners will determine interest rates and loan amounts. Good to excellent credit will qualify for the best rates. Establishing a strong credit history or finding a qualified cosigner with excellent credit is essential to accessing competitive loan terms.
This can be a con based on your credit history, but personal circumstances do not affect our ranking.
Ranking 15/15 as the minimum FICO score required for the loan is 650. Note that we gave this more weight in the rankings as the ability to obtain the loan at a lower interest rate is very important to most borrowers.
What is the application process?
Start a loan application with Ascent with a pre-qualification, which includes providing basic information for you and your cosigner. After you receive approval, you’ll review your loan details and select the loan terms that work for you.
There may be a series of tasks you’ll need to complete through the online portal before the funds are finally sent to your school.
The time it takes for a loan approval is not listed on the website. To see if an Ascent loan is right for you, start the loan application to see rates without impacting your credit score.
Like most lenders, a Soft Pull of your credit report will be required in the pre-qualification stage. These types of inquiries will not negatively affect your credit. If you decide to continue with the process, more details will be required.
Ranking 10/10 based on a “soft pull” of the credit report, which is not reported to the credit-reporting agencies.
How competitive are the rates?
Ascent’s rates are determined by the type of loan. Non-cosigned loans are significantly higher than those with a cosigner.
At the time of this article, rates for a Cosigned Credit-Based Loan shows:
Fixed Rate Loans range from 3.69% – 14.56% APR
Variable Rate Loans ranging from 5.66% – 14.72% APR
If you can lock in a fixed-rate loan with an excellent credit score, your loan will be significantly lower than starting with a variable rate and seeing it rise to the upper percentage rates. However; variable rates can be advantageous at times.
The term of your loan can also impact the cost and monthly payment amount. Ascent offers 5, 7, 10, and 12-year loans. The choice of term depends on the loan amount and repayment options.
Ranking 10/10 based on options for a fixed or variable rate loan. We encourage you to shop around for the best rates.
Are there other resources available?
Check out AscentUP, a professional development training portal that has classes to help you reach career and financial goals with valuable soft skills.
Bright Future Hub has articles, calculators, and checklists to help you navigate your college and student loan journey.
And why not throw your hat into the ring and enter to win a monthly Shining Stars Scholarship Giveaway? Every student could use another $1,000 in their pocket.
School Resources focuses on how schools can work with Ascent to make the student loan process easier. But on this page is also an interactive map showing all of the eligible schools in each state. Check this out to see if your school is on the list.
Ranking 10/10 due to Special Product Features in addition to just the loan.
What else should you consider?
We investigated the rating provided by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which gives consumers confidence in a business’s reliability and trustworthiness. The rating is based on factors like customer complaints, transparency, and adherence to BBB standards. A higher BBB rating indicates that a business resolves customer issues effectively and operates ethically. It serves as a measure of transparency and accountability, showing how well a business treats its customers and handles disputes.
A B+ rating ranked 7 out of 10 on our scale.
Ranking 7/10 based on feedback from borrowers and an overall ranking of B+. We encourage you to look up any lender we review on their website at www.bbb.org.
We also looked at other reviews for our private student loans. If the loan was reviewed on major financial sites, we considered this a plus to the visibility of the loan. While this is a small factor in whether to consider a loan, we do recommend careful research when comparing this loan to others.
Ranking 9/10 based on a review from NerdWallet, who gave Ascent a 4.5 out of 5 rating.
Does Ascent offer other loans?
We focused on undergraduate private student loans in our analysis, but Ascent also offers parent-only loans and graduate student loans for MBA, dental, law, medical, and general graduate school.
If there is a coding boot camp you are interested in, check Ascent’s list of programs and see if they will offer a loan for you to attend.
For international and DACA students, there are loans for you as well.
Summary
Here’s a summary of the pros and cons of a private student loan with Ascent:
Pros:
- 4-Step Application Process
- 1% Cash Back Reward Upon Graduation
- Competitive Interest Rates
- No Fees
- Flexible Repayment Terms
- No Penalty for Early Repayment
- B+ Rating by the BBB
- Numerous Deferment Options
- 9-month Grace Period for Repayment
- 12-month Cosigner Release Option
Cons:
- Unknown Approval Times
- No Income-Driven Repayment Plans
- Interest Accrual During In-School Deferment Periods
- Lack of Federal Protection
- No Nerdwallet Review
Overall Ranking
Based on our set of criteria, we rank Ascent at 5 out of 5.
Next Steps
Navigating private student loans can be complex, as we’ve explored in this review. We strongly recommend evaluating multiple options thoroughly before reaching a decision. Visit lender websites, talk with their representatives, and prioritize key features based on your needs.
Your choice of loan will be influenced by various factors, each carrying different levels of importance to your specific situation. Taking these steps ensures you’re well-informed and positioned to select the loan that best fits your financial and educational goals.
Explore our other reviews and resources to learn about other lenders.
Click here to Apply to Ascent Private Student Loans
About the Author
Kim Burton is a versatile content and technical writer residing in the scenic mountains of Colorado. A lifelong learner, Kim enjoys crafting insightful articles on finance, technology, marketing, nutrition, real estate, and self-care. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and is a certified nutrition coach. As a mother preparing her child for college, Kim has conducted thorough research into the student loan process, equipping herself with a wealth of knowledge to navigate this complex financial landscape. When she’s not writing, Kim enjoys hiking, creating, gardening, and hanging out with her family.
