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Alternative Financing for Continuing Education Programs

Alternative Financing for Continuing Education Programs

Meet Climb

Climb is a mission-driven startup working to help schools increase enrollment, access, and affordability by providing alternative financing for career and professional education programs without federal financial aid.

Climb offers financing to people with various credit profiles, to help those who may not otherwise be able to afford tuition.

Students are central to our mission — we bridge the gap between the desire to continue education and the ability to pay for it. And unlike some private loan providers, Climb makes sure people only take out loans that they’ll be able to pay back.

After all, one of the biggest barriers to education is not being able to afford it.

68% of people either delay or entirely forego attending a program without financing options.1

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"[When deciding to go back to school], it would have probably been a huge deterrent if I wasn't able to get the financing from Climb ... and Climb does a really good job of informing you and being very transparent. The documentation is extremely easy to read, the online Portal is simple to use, and it gives me a good idea of where I'm at, how much I owe, what the payment is going to be, so it's probably one of the easiest payments to keep track of out of anything else I have on my plate."

–Luis Rocha, Climb partner school graduate

How we help schools

Climb is the only new marketing strategy that’s both effective and free. Because we work with skill-based programs, prospective students can see you’re a Climb partner and feel confident that you provide career-focused education.

And, since we can offer financing to people various credit profiles, helping those who may not otherwise be able to afford tuition, our partner schools can increase their enrollment and cashflow without spending any money!

Increased enrollments

Enroll more students by marketing customized loan solutions

Legally compliant

Rest easy — loans are well understood, and Climb is licensed and fully compliant

Affordability-focused

Design your program to maximize benefits for your school and affordability for your students

Shared data and outcomes

Get data on how well your students are doing through our best-in-class, real-time School Portal and Climb’s concierge Student Surveys
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"I chose Galvanize partially because you guys were choosy lenders, and one of the places you chose to lend for was Galvanize."​

–David Sudia, Climb partner school graduate​

How we help students

Our mission is to help people reach their goals in a financially responsible way. That’s why we’re proud to partner with over 500 schools across the US2 to offer accessible payment options to attend their programs! And with our easy application, financial resources, and friendly and knowledgeable Student Support Team, we make sure applicants are equipped with everything they need to make an informed decision about their education and financing.

“The best thing about Climb has been not worrying about paying for school since day one. Changing or launching your career is daunting enough, and the cost of tuition ... can be very overwhelming. I’m glad I made the leap, however, because paying for school has been the easiest part of the process.”​

–Joshua Jaffe, Climb partner school graduate​​

How Climb financing works

We make it easy to apply for financing to attend your programs — in fact, Climb partners have the option to integrate our application directly into their own online application! Other benefits of a Climb application include:

  • A simple, online application that takes less than five minutes
  • Instant decisions a majority of the time
  • Tuition funds sent directly to the school
  • No hard credit pull until a loan is funded, so students can submit multiple applications with no impact to their credit score3
  • Servicing handled by Climb
  • Email and text reminders sent to students to keep them on track with payments
  • Can work with students who need help making their monthly payments

Once you’re a Climb partner, you’ll be paired with a partner advocate who’ll help you navigate and be there throughout the partnership to answer any questions you may have. You’ll also have access to our easy-to-use school dashboard, where you can stay up-to-date on loan applications, request necessary updates for individual applications, and channels to reach out to our team.

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“I was very new to this type of lending process, so it was really nice to have this go smoothly when I was already making this huge life decision and these really big commitments."​

–Christy La Guardia, Climb partner school graduate​

Interested in becoming a Climb partner?

Reach out to our team for more details about how we can benefit you and your students with our financing options:

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1 – Based on a 2018 survey of Climb website visitors
2 – Number of active Climb partners as of March 26, 2025
3 – To check the rates and terms applicants qualify for and their eligibility, Climb conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect their credit score. Once a loan is accepted and funded, we will request their full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit pull and may affect credit.
*Loans are originated by Climb Investco, LLC. Schools do not endorse loans originated by Climb InvestCo, LLC, and Climb InvestCo, LLC is not affiliated with any school.
*Licensing: California Finance Lender #60DBO-44527. NMLS Consumer Access (NMLS# 1240013).
*This communication is not intended for students.

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What to Expect: Realistic Outcomes

Climb’s Comprehensive Access Solution can offer a strategic balance of increased enrollments and upfront cashflows compared to traditional lenders. While no financing solution guarantees 100% collection, our data-driven approach maximizes both upfront cash and long-term repayment rates.

Typical Partner Results:

  • 15-30% of students qualify for Climb Loans with upfront tuition delivered to the school shortly after course start
  • 45-60% of students qualify for 0% APR* payment plans
  • Enrollment increases of 20%+ reported by partner schools**

**Results vary by school and student demographics. This represents performance reported by individual school partners and should not be considered a guarantee of your specific outcomes.

The bottom line: CAS is designed to maximize your net tuition recovery while eliminating the administrative headaches of student financing.

Maximizing Your Results

Pro Tip: Schools that require student deposits and set up automatic payments during enrollment see significantly better repayment performance across all financing options. These simple steps can meaningfully improve your outcomes.

FAQs

We use a comprehensive, AI-driven assessment that goes beyond traditional FICO scores to better serve career training students:

  • Climb Credit Score: Over 150 data points specifically designed for vocational students
  • Debt-to-Income Ratio: Reliable predictor of payment performance
  • FICO Score: Used primarily for interest rate assignment

Key advantages of our approach:

  • Soft credit pull until loan funding (no credit impact during application)
  • The majority of students receive instant decisions
  • Students can apply with co-borrowers directly in the application
  • More accurate placement into appropriate financing products

We use a comprehensive, AI-driven assessment that goes beyond traditional FICO scores to better serve career training students:

  • Climb Credit Score: Over 150 data points specifically designed for vocational students
  • Debt-to-Income Ratio: Reliable predictor of payment performance
  • FICO Score: Used primarily for interest rate assignment

Key advantages of our approach:

  • Soft credit pull until loan funding (no credit impact during application)
  • The majority of students receive instant decisions
  • Students can apply with co-borrowers directly in the application
  • More accurate placement into appropriate financing products

Students are placed into funding brackets (Elite, Standard, Enhanced) based on our AI assessment. Higher-credit students generate higher upfront payments to your school, while students with limited credit are seamlessly directed to our 0% Payment Plan.

These brackets are established using data from over $1 billion in career training loan originations and may be adjusted periodically based on updated repayment trends.

Important note: Regardless of which bracket a student falls into, they are considered fully paid by your school once funded. The student’s repayment obligation exists exclusively between Climb and the student.

Elite Access not available for Computer Science programs. Upfront percentages vary by industry and loan terms.

Once Climb disburses upfront funding for a student loan, that student is considered fully paid by your school. You will not receive any additional payments for that student—the single upfront payment is complete and final.

From that point forward, the student’s repayment obligation exists exclusively between Climb and the student. Your school has zero liability if the student defaults, and you keep the full upfront payment regardless of the student’s future payment performance.

They’re automatically offered our 0% Interest Payment Plan, ensuring no student is turned away while maintaining steady monthly cash flow for your school.

Higher-credit students generate larger upfront payments (75-100% of tuition), while students with limited credit use our 0% APR* Payment Plan for consistent monthly revenue. Both options are risk-free for your school

Absolutely. Climb complements existing payment options like scholarships, employer-sponsored programs, and internal financing.

Absolutely. Climb complements existing payment options like scholarships, employer-sponsored programs, and internal financing.

Typically, within 5-10 business days after your partnership agreement is signed.

Comprehensive onboarding webinar, continuous partner support via AI-assisted chat and live email—and real-time borrower assistance with our live-chat-available student success team.

No. Climb fully manages the administrative responsibilities—your team simply monitors your school’s performance via our intuitive School Portal.

Your school is fully protected either way. For Climb Loans, you keep the entire upfront payment with zero liability. For Payment Plans, you only receive what students actually pay, with no risk to your school.