# Funding U

> Funding U (legally Funding University) is an Atlanta-based fintech lender that gives high-achieving undergraduates private student loans without a cosigner and without relying on FICO scores. Instead of judging students by their family's credit or wealth, the company underwrites loans using academic performance, progress toward a degree, likelihood of graduating, and projected earnings - factors a student actually controls. Founded in 2015 by Jeannie Tarkenton, Funding U aims to serve low- and moderate-income students that traditional private lenders won't touch, positioning its product as a responsible 'last-gap' option that fills the space left after grants, federal aid, and scholarships run out.

- **Founded:** 2015
- **Headquarters:** Atlanta, United States
- **Founders:** Jeannie Tarkenton (Founder & CEO)
- **Team size:** ~23 employees
- **Products:** No-Cosigner Private Student Loan, SMaRT underwriting model, Platform-as-a-service for funders
- **Notable:** Financed 9,300+ students with a reported 90% graduation rate (2025 Impact Report), Serves a borrower base that is 54% first-generation and 44% Pell-eligible, Early backing from Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions (2016 seed round)

## Products & services

- **No-Cosigner Private Student Loan** — Fixed-rate undergraduate loans (roughly 7.99%-13.45% APR) requiring no cosigner and no FICO minimum. Loan amounts from $3,001 up to $20,000 per year ($100,000 aggregate), with 5- or 10-year terms, no application/origination/late/prepayment fees, and in-school payments as low as $20/month.
- **SMaRT underwriting model** — A data-science / AI-driven credit model that scores applicants on factors they control - academic performance, progress toward a degree, likelihood to graduate, projected debt load, and projected post-graduation earnings - rather than on traditional credit scores.
- **Platform-as-a-service for funders** — A lending-platform offering (introduced around 2023) that lets workforce-development funds and philanthropic organizations deploy capital to students through Funding U's underwriting and servicing infrastructure.

## Achievements

- Financed 9,300+ students with a reported 90% graduation rate (2025 Impact Report)
- Serves a borrower base that is 54% first-generation and 44% Pell-eligible
- Early backing from Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions (2016 seed round)
- Secured a Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group credit facility (2020)
- Built a proprietary AI/data-science underwriting model (SMaRT) that prices loans on academic momentum
- Regularly cited by NerdWallet, CNBC Select, Bankrate, and The College Investor as a leading no-cosigner option for underclassmen

## Latest updates

- **2025** — 2025 Impact Report reports 9,300+ students financed, a 90% graduation rate, 54% first-generation, and 44% Pell-eligible borrowers.
- **2023** — Expanded into a platform-as-a-service for workforce and philanthropic funders, pursued CDFI designation, and reported roughly $40M originated to students.
- **2022-05** — Raised a Series A round (reported $7.5M).

## Links

- Website: https://funding-u.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/funding-university
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/Funding_U
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fundinguniversity/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/funding-u
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-15