TUITION REFUND GUARANTEE

Effective as of June 11, 2021

At Thinkful, we are committed to your success. Learning these skills is difficult but leads to career opportunities in fast-growing fields. We are confident that if you put in the work and follow our program, you can land a job. We back our commitment with the “Tuition Refund Guarantee.” Subject to the terms below, if you are not offered a “Qualifying Position” (as defined below) within 180 days of graduation from your Thinkful program (such 180-day period, the “Career Services Period”), Thinkful will refund 100% of the tuition that you or a third party paid on your behalf and cancel any remaining owed payments. It is important to note that every student, whether or not eligible for the Tuition Refund Guarantee, receives the same level of career support and access to 20 hours of career services support during the Career Services Period. Prior to graduation, you will be given the opportunity to opt in or out to receive this support. Opting out of career support does impact your eligibility for the Tuition Refund Guarantee.

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for the Tuition Refund Guarantee, you must:

  1. graduate from the enrolled program within the expected duration of the program and complete all course requirements, including all career services checkpoints;
  2. be at least 21 years of age by the time you graduate the program,
  3. be a U.S. citizen or green card holder legally and permanently authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship;
  4. be proficient in spoken and written English;
  5. be able to pass any background checks associated with jobs that you apply for;
  6. pay tuition Upfront, or through a Month-to-Month or Full or Partial Tuition Loan Financing (Traditional or Deferred) payment plans; income share agreements and the Living Expenses portion of Deferred Tuition + Living Expenses Loans are not eligible;
  7. live in or within a one-hour commuting distance of one of the "Approved Cities" listed below; A one-hour commuting distance is defined as the maximum distance during a one hour long rush hour commute that would allow for an arrival by 9:00 am;
  8. disclose and receive approval during the admissions process if you are moving from one "Approved City" to another "Approved City" and be able to prove relocation within 30 days of enrollment; and
  9. support state reporting requirements by completing career surveys in a timely and complete manner.
  10. DATA SCIENCE PROGRAMS ONLY: Students should have earned a BA/BS STEM Degree or BA/BS Degree or have 2+ years in a technical role. Students should have previous working experience directly related to the field (Data Analyst, Programmer, etc.) if their BA/BS is not a STEM Degree.
  11. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT ONLY: Student should have earned an undergraduate degree.

 

Approved Cities

Each of the following is an "Approved City" for software engineering, web development, data science, data analytics, product management, technical project management, digital marketing, and design programs (as defined in the enrollment agreement):

Ann Arbor, MI • Atlanta, GA • Austin, TX • Baltimore, MD • Boise, ID • Boston, MA • Boulder, CO • Buffalo, NY • Charlotte, NC • Chicago, IL • Cincinnati, OH • Cleveland, OH • Columbus, OH • Dallas, TX • Denver, CO • Des Moines, IA • Detroit, MI • Hartford, CT • Houston, TX • Indianapolis, IN • Jacksonville, FL • Kansas City, MO • Las Vegas, NV • Los Angeles, CA • Madison, WI • Memphis, TN • Miami, FL • Milwaukee, WI • Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN • Nashville, TN • New York, NY • Oakland, CA • Oklahoma City, OK • Orlando, FL • Philadelphia, PA • Phoenix, AZ • Pittsburgh, PA • Portland, OR • Raleigh, NC • Richmond, VA • Sacramento, CA • Salt Lake City, UT • San Antonio, TX • San Bernardino, CA • San Diego, CA • San Francisco, CA • San Jose, CA • Seattle, WA • St. Louis, MO • Tampa, FL • Washington, D.C.

Qualifying Positions

For students who chose to finance their program with the Upfront Payment, Month to Month Payment, or Traditional Loan options, a “Qualifying Position” means a "Full-Time," "In-Field" position that has an expected duration of engagement or employment of three months or more.

  • "Full-Time" means a job that is at least 30 hours per week or that is described as full-time in the offer.
  • "In-Field" means a job that requires the skills taught in your program, or one that would fall under a relevant Bureau of Labor Statistics SOC code.

For students who chose to finance their program through the Deferred Tuition option, a “Qualifying Position” means a position that (1) has an expected duration of engagement or employment (full-time or part-time) of three months or more and (2) “Paying at least $3,333.33 per month.”

  • “Paying at least $3,333.33 per month” means that the total anticipated compensation of such position, including salary, fees and any earned overtime or commissions, meets or exceeds $3,333.33 pre-tax per month.

It is important to know that job titles in tech vary enormously from field to field and even company to company. As such, we expect you to apply for jobs suitable for your experience and background. See below for an example list of titles by field.

 

Job Titles

It is important to know that job titles in tech vary enormously from field to field and even company to company. As such, we expect you to apply for jobs suitable for your experience and background, which include titles such as but not limited to:

Software Engineering and Web Development programs: Web Developer, Frontend Developer, Backend Developer, Full Stack Developer, Software Engineer, Computer Programmer, Software Developer, Applications Software Developer, Systems Software Database Administrator, Network and Computer System Administrator, Computer Network Support Specialist

Product Management programs: Product Manager, Associate/Junior Product Manager, Product Marketing Manager, Associate/Junior Product Marketing Manager, Technical Product Manager, Product Owner, Product Specialist, Product Analyst

Design programs: UX/UI Designer, Product Designer, Designer, Web Designer, UX Researcher, Information Architect, Product Manager

Data Science programs: Data Scientist, Data Engineer, Machine Learning Engineer, Data Analyst, Business Intelligence Analyst, Operations Analyst

Data Analytics programs: Data Analyst, Business Intelligence Analyst, Marketing Analyst, Finance Analyst, and Data Journalist

Digital Marketing programs: Marketing Specialist, Digital Marketing Manager, Marketing Coordinator, Marketing Associate, Social Media Manager, Email Marketing Specialist, Marketing Assistant, Social Media Specialist, Digital Marketing Analyst, Email Marketing Manager, Digital Marketing Analyst

Technical Project Management programs: Assistant Project Manager, Junior Project Manager, Associate Project Manager, Marketing Project Manager, Junior IT Project Manager, IT Project Manager, Cloud Product Director, Cybersecurity Project Manager, Data Center Product Director, Information Systems Project Manager (IS Project Manager), IT Developer (Information Technology Developer), IT Manager (Information Technology Manager), IT Program Manager (Information Technology Program Manager), Scrum Master, Transition Program Manager, Technical Project Manager

Post-Graduation Requirements

During the Career Services Period that begins upon graduation, we expect you to fully commit to the job search and to work as hard as you did before graduating. We require you to engage in the process as a professional and to take our recommendations seriously. To retain eligibility for the guarantee, you must:

  1. Check in with your coach by phone or email at least once a week or as outlined by your assigned career coach (*Note: if you are unable to meet, cancellations must be sent at least 24 hours prior to your session),
  2. Track all your job search activity using your Huntr job tracker or an approved alternate, and produce this resource at each of your coaching sessions,
  3. Reply to the Career Services team and all Thinkful correspondence within one business day,
  4. Not commit acts of dishonesty during the application process (i.e. submitting work that is not yours or making misrepresentations to employers on your resume or otherwise),
  5. Collaborate with your career coach to create a personalized job search plan approved by your coach,
  6. Apply to at least 10 position-appropriate, In-Field jobs each week, at least three of which through some form of outreach or personal connection, documented appropriately,
  7. Attend at least 5 non-recurring, non-Thinkful sponsored networking events (Meetups, conferences, seminars, grad-sourced informational interviews, networking events, hackathons, workshops, job fairs, or other options approved by your career coach) each month, and
  8. Maintain clear records of all job search activities including application confirmation emails, photos from events, registration verifications, etc. and provide to career coach upon request.

How This Guarantee Applies to You

Without limiting the foregoing, possible situations that void this guarantee include, but are not limited to the following:

  1. You withdraw from the program, for any reason, after your initial enrollment date.
  2. You opt out of receiving Career Services support.
  3. You do not pass any mock interview assessment or capstone review after 2 attempts.
  4. You decide not to actively search for program-specific employment or pursue other endeavors after graduation.
  5. You apply to fewer than 10 position-appropriate roles per week for a total of 4 weeks or more during your search.
  6. You attend fewer than 5 networking events each month for the duration of your search.
  7. You turn down an offer for a "Qualifying Position" or accept a job offer for a position that is not a "Qualifying Position."
  8. You choose to start your own business or work as a freelancer.
  9. You lose your work authorization as described above.
  10. You do not consistently communicate with your coach or Career Services, including failure to notify us of requests for interviews or offers you receive.
  11. Without Thinkful’s approval during the admissions process, you move from one Approved City to another Approved City during the program or job search.
  12. You behave in a manner that violates Thinkful's Code of Conduct as outlined in the course catalog.

Thinkful reserves the right to extend the Tuition Refund Guarantee period and/or Career Services Period by up to six months if there is a natural disaster, epidemic, pandemic, act of God, war, terrorism or other unexpected occurrence beyond Thinkful's reasonable control which disrupts the job market globally, nationally or in one or more metropolitan areas you are targeting, at its sole discretion.

Graduates are responsible for tracking eligibility, maintaining records, and requesting refunds, according to the policies outlined above, or otherwise a graduate may immediately become ineligible for the Tuition Refund Guarantee upon non-compliance with any of the above requirements listed herein. 

Tuition Refund Request and Certification

If you have graduated from a Thinkful program, have met all Eligibility Requirements, have conducted a professional job search as described herein and by your coach, and have not received an offer for a "Qualifying Position” within 180 days of completing your program, you may request a refund of your tuition. Requests must be made in writing and submitted to Academic.Affairs@chegg.com within thirty days after the end of your Career Services Period and must include a signed certification that you have met all the terms of this guarantee and have not been offered any "Qualifying Positions."