Covering the Program Cost

There are no upfront costs for any of our programs — ever, unless you choose to pay in full upfront.

For the IT, UX Design, Cybersecurity, Project Management, and Data Analytics programs, programs are a maximum of $5700 (your program cost may be lower than $5700 if you receive sponsorship from an employer). You can learn more about covering the cost of the program HERE.

For Java Development, the program is a maximum of $8400. You’ll make 24 monthly payments of $350 when you land a job making $50,000 or more. After 4 years, the agreement ends — even if you’ve paid nothing. You can learn more about our Success Sharing Agreement here.

If you ever lose your job or if your incomes drops below the income threshold, you can request a deferment to pause your payments in 3-month increments. To learn more about that process, you can learn more on this section of Ascent’s page.

Merit America does not accept any financial aid towards our program. Our programs have no upfront cost. If you choose Ascent Funding’s Zero Percent Loan, you won’t make any payments until three months after completing or exiting your Merit America program. Once you start repaying the loan, you will make monthly payments without incurring any interest charges, and if you happen to become unemployed, you can delay payment.

For our IT Support, UX Design, and Data Analytics programs, Ascent Funding offers a Zero Percent Loan. Learn more here.

For our Java Development program, there is no interest rate in the Success Sharing Agreement.

Depending on eligibility, Amazon will cover full or partial costs for full-time and part-time employees through their Career Choice benefits. Amazon currently covers the following programs:

• IT Support
• Data Analytics
• Java Development

If you are a full-time Amazon employee, eligible for Career Choice, your payment request will cover 100% of program costs for IT Support, Data Analytics or Java Development.

If you are a part-time Amazon ****employee, and eligible for Career Choice, your payment request  will cover up to $2,625 of program costs for IT Support, Data Analytics or Java Development. In this case, you may also be eligible to apply for Ascent Financing’s Zero Percent Loan to cover the remaining tuition with no upfront cost.

For more information, please reach out directly to your Amazon HR Representative.

The confirmation code for your Career Choice payment request will be provided to you by our team once you have completed your pre-work and been accepted in our program.

Once you are fully accepted in the program and the Career Choice payment request application is open, you will be instructed to apply for your Amazon Career Choice payment request and provided with the confirmation code.

It is crucial for this request to be submitted before the start date of your course, and to also remain pending in our system from this point forward until week 4.

Upon completing Week 4, your request will be reviewed and approved by our team, and Amazon will provide the eligible funds towards the cost of the program.

Once your payment request has been submitted, there are no further action items you need to complete regarding your request.

There are no upfront costs for any of our programs — ever, unless you choose to do so. Merit America has multiple payment options, eligibility may be required:

• Ascent Funding’s Zero Percent Loan
• Self-funding
• Sponsorship
• Amazon Career Choice

You can find more information about paying for our IT Support, UX Design, Cybersecurity, Project Management, and Data Analytics programs with Ascent Funding’s Zero Percent Loan here.

Watch this quick video detailing our partnership with Ascent Funding and how it works!

https://youtu.be/oRELyZ9HjU8?si=7lK4r_2J_D1EPDnT

Reach Ascent Funding at any time with questions via email meritamerica@ascentfunding.com or phone (877) 279-2614

With the Zero Percent Loan from Ascent Funding:

1. In the pre-qualification process, Ascent Funding will conduct a soft credit check with no impact to your credit score. All applicants must pass a credit review that checks for certain derogatory credit items; however, there is no minimum credit history or credit score required for loan approval for the Ascent Zero Percent loan.
2. Once you begin repayment, you’ll make low, predictable monthly payments for 60 months.
3. You will qualify for additional deferment options to delay the start of your repayment until your total monthly income is equivalent to $40,000 per year ($3,333/month).

With the prior Success Sharing Agreement, learners were not required to repay until they secured a new job making over $40k. With the Zero Interest Loan from Ascent Funding, you will qualify for additional deferment options to delay the start of your repayment until your total monthly income is equivalent to $40,000 per year ($3,333/month). This means that if your total annual income is $40,000 or more, you will begin repayment 3 months after you have left the program or 3 months after the end of immersions.

Visit here for more information about payment.

For learners who have signed the Zero Percent Loan and decide to withdraw from the program after completing the Foundation phase, the amount they owe will depend on the point at which they withdraw. Here are the specific percentages:

• If learners withdraw prior to the end of Week 5, they will owe nothing.
• If learners withdraw after Week 5, but prior to completing Week 7, they will owe 60.0% of the Total Loan Amount.
• If learners withdraw after Week 7, but prior to completing Week 9, they will owe 80.0% of the Total Loan Amount.
• If learners withdraw after completing Week 9 of the Eligible Program, no refund is available, and the Program Loan remains due in full.

All learners, whether they complete the program or withdraw, repay according to Ascent Funding’s terms. Learners can defer their repayment every 3 months for up to 60 months until they are earning the equivalent of at least $40,000 per year.

For more information, please visit Ascent’s website or email meritamerica@ascentfunding.com

If you have taken a Zero Percent Loan for a program and subsequently withdrew before completing it, you may be eligible to re-enroll in the program. However, it’s important to note that learners are only eligible for one Zero Percent Loan, so if you decide to re-enroll, you will need to pay the tuition for the second program in full upfront, unless your tuition is sponsored by a third party such as an employer or government partner.

For more information, please visit Ascent’s website or email meritamerica@ascentfunding.com.

Yes! Learners have the option to forgo the Zero Percent Loan offered by Ascent Funding and instead pay for their tuition in full upfront. If you choose to pay in full, you can contact success-sharing@meritamerica.org to set up the payment arrangement.

At Merit America, our mission is to support learners in their transition from low-wage jobs to family-sustaining careers they’re passionate about. We believe that cost should never be an obstacle to achieving your career dreams, and we are committed to removing barriers to create opportunities that are accessible to everyone.

After careful consideration, we made the decision to discontinue our Success Sharing Agreement as a way for learners to cover the cost of our Java Development program. We remain committed, however, to providing learners with the best possible options for covering the cost of our program. We believe in offering financing solutions that are not only accessible but also learner-friendly, and we are actively exploring alternative options that will meet our learners’ needs and aspirations.

During this transition, we will have limited spots available in our Java Development career track for the foreseeable future. We have a limited number of 2024 Java Development spots available for qualified Amazon Career Choice participants. If you are a current Amazon employee, or become employed by Amazon and are eligible for Career Choice, we welcome you to apply for one of our 2024 programs. Click here to learn more.

To those who have been patiently waiting for their chance to join our Java Development program, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We are grateful for your understanding and support.

Our promise to you is transparency and regular updates. We will provide another update mid-year as we continue our search for the ideal financing solution. Your journey and success are of utmost importance to us, and we are working diligently to find a solution that empowers you to achieve your career goals with Merit America.

Merit America exists to support learners to transition out of low-wage jobs into careers they love. We believe that cost should not be a barrier to your career transition. We offer learner-friendly options to cover your cost, including upfront sponsorship, Ascent’s Zero Percent Loan, and direct payment. If none of these options is available to you, Merit America has set aside a limited number of spaces for our Opportunity for All program. If you apply for an Ascent Zero Percent Loan and do not qualify, are not sponsored by your employer, and cannot pay in full upfront, you can apply for the program, which will cover 100% of the cost for Merit America.

The Opportunity for All program is for Merit America learners who were denied the Zero Percent Loan from Ascent due to debt or collections and are unable to cover their costs through the currently available payment options, such as employer sponsorship or upfront payment.

No, you have to apply to be covered by the program. Since the Zero Percent Loan is a product of another company, Merit America is not involved in eligibility decisions, and does not have access to the information of who qualifies for the loan and who doesn’t. If you apply for the loan, and are denied, you must fill out a form to be covered by the Opportunity for All program; this form can be requested after you notify your coach you have been denied for the loan.

No. Since spots are limited, the program is only available to learners who have been denied a loan product. Also, more people are eligible for the loan than you might think. According to Ascent Funding, “there is no minimum credit history or credit score required for loan approval for the Ascent Zero Percent loan.”

No. The Opportunity for All program is for Merit America learners who were denied the Zero Percent Loan from Ascent due to debt or collections and are unable to cover their costs through the currently available payment options, such as employer sponsorship or upfront payment.

If you were denied the Zero Percent Loan from Ascent due to visa requirements or citizenship, you can defer to a future cohort once you meet the eligibility requirements for the Zero Percent Loan outlined here. If you’d like to stay in your program, you can cover your costs via one full upfront payment by the end of Week 4.

Merit America has set aside up to 10% of our spots for the Opportunity for All program.