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How Climb’s Approval Booster Helped Heavy Construction Academy’s Veteran Population

By Grant Wissak

At Climb, our goal is to empower driven people to reach their full potential. In our 6-year history, we’ve done this by offering payment options to attend skill-building courses across the country, and we take our mission of increasing access to career-focused programs seriously.

Because we are directly aligned with our school partners, we feel even more confident in the education they’re providing than your traditional lender might be. We want to help as many people as possible to gain access to this education. This philosophy allows us to offer our school partners an option to approve 100% of their students for Climb loans. By doing this, Climb has expanded access far beyond what has typically been the only demographic eligible for financing.

Heavy Construction Academy (HCA), a longstanding partner of Climb’s based in New Hampshire, was looking for a creative solution to increasing veteran access to their programs. As a VA-approved institution, many of their students use the GI Bill© to fund their program at HCA. However, there might still be a gap between their military benefits and the cost of their tuition. That’s where Climb’s Approval Booster comes in.

According to Brian Martin, Director of Operations at HCA, “We have many opportunities where Military students may have varying levels of benefits. The Approval Booster program allows us to give opportunities to veterans that wouldn’t have otherwise been able to attend programs, get certified in 8 different pieces of heavy equipment, and find themselves a great paying and rewarding new career.” Since activating the product, Heavy Construction Academy has been able to educate at least one additional veteran per class.

Helping students access career-focused education is our goal here at Climb. With products like these, we’ve empowered students of all demographics to attain a life-changing education. Credit history shouldn’t be the only determinant of financing options for students. Each day at Climb, we’re working to change that.

How Climb can help your learners?

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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.