Yes, Unbound is an explicitly Christian company. You can read our full mission and values statement here. However, we don’t require any of our students to sign a statement of faith, or be a member of a specific denomination or religion. We firmly believe that our job isn’t to take the place of a church, which is the main place a student should be getting their faith education. Instead, our goal is to give our students tools and frameworks that they can use to put their faith into action in the real world.
All of Unbound’s programs are either fully remote or hybrid, so we don’t have a single, central location. Students in Unbound’s Ascend program travel to four in-person events throughout the year, each one held in a different part of the country. The majority of Unbound’s staff is located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, but we all work remotely.
The short answer is yes, you can. However, it’s worth reading through the long answer in this blog post we wrote, which has all of the details you need to know on 529 funds and Unbound.
Unbound is not an accredited higher education institution. In the Ascend program, students can take classes to earn college credit, but the credits will come from partner colleges who work with Unbound, not Unbound itself.
The principles and models taught in Navigate are applicable for all ages. However, the Navigate course content is specifically directed towards young adults between the ages of 14-22.
Navigate can be included on high school transcripts for .5 elective credits.
Navigate is 8 modules long and scheduled to be completed over 16 weeks. It is run once per semester in the fall, spring, and summer.
Many Navigate students are taking a full high school or college course load at the same time. Navigate is very conducive to a busy student or graduate’s schedule. It typically adds 2-4 hours per week for students. Assignments are focused on reflection and application so students can take what they learn and do something with it right away.
Navigate is for any young adult seeking to discover their life purpose, learn more about who God created them to be, and gain an effective strategy for determining their next step. Whether you are pursuing college, a career, a trade, or just exploring right now, Navigate is designed to set you up to launch into whatever is next armed with an understanding of your purpose, God’s will for your life, and the ability to ask good questions.
No, Equip is not a full-time curriculum. It is a supplemental high school elective program designed to work alongside any curriculum. Equip students typically spend around 5 hours a week on the program working through life and study skills courses, worldview training, project assignments, and coaching. Everything students do in Equip is designed to work alongside and enhance whatever curriculum they are already using.
The Equip program is delivered fully online, however, all students are eligible to register for and attend Unbound’s annual young adult conference, APEX. APEX is held in Lake City, MI every August and includes live orientation for all Equip students who attend. It’s a great way to include an in-person experience as part of the Equip program and get to meet classmates and coaches live!
Students can start Equip in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade! Equip is designed to build through each year if a student starts in 9th grade, but each year is also set up to stand alone so a student can start in any grade and not feel like they missed something.
At enrollment, students choose the day and time that works best for them and will be assigned to that group for the rest of the year.
9th Grade:
10th Grade:
11th Grade:
All of the coaching is done in a group setting. However, students can communicate with each other and their coach as needed through a private messaging platform. Here, students can also connect with the Equip program director if needed.
All Equip mini-courses are asynchronous, but they are not self-paced. Each mini-course has deadlines, due-dates, and late work penalties.
Yes! We recommend 1.25 elective credit hours for successful completion of the program.
Yes! You can get the full program guide for Equip for free by clicking here.
Installment plans are available. These can be set up by your admissions counselor and will include a deposit payment at the time of registration followed by 12 equal installments billed monthly after the date of your registration. To learn more about these plans you can schedule an appointment with our team or email us at [email protected].
The registration cost for Equip is for a full 10-month academic year.
Yes, there is a discount available when you register siblings together in Equip or Explore. To learn more you can book a call with our admissions team or by emailing [email protected].
No, Explore is not a full-time curriculum. Explore students typically spend around 5-10 hours a week on the program working through life and study skills courses, worldview training courses, project assignments, and coaching. Everything students do in Explore is designed to work alongside and enhance whatever curriculum they are already using.
The Explore program is delivered fully online, however, enrollment includes free registration for Unbound’s annual young adult conference, APEX. APEX is held in Lake City, MI every August and includes live orientation for all Explore students who attend. It’s a great way to include an in-person experience as part of the Explore program and get to meet classmates and coaches live!
Explore students study and test for 1-3 CLEP exams throughout the year. CLEP exams are self-paced, but coaches will help students work through the material at a pace that allows them to earn a minimum of three credits per semester if they choose to take advantage of the included CLEP vouchers.
At enrollment, students choose the day and time that works best for them and will be assigned to that group for the rest of the year.
All of the coaching is done in a group setting. However, students can communicate with each other and their coach as needed through a private messaging platform. Here, students can also connect with the Explore program director if needed.
All Explore mini-courses are asynchronous, but they are not self-paced. Each mini-course has deadlines, due-dates, and late work penalties.
Yes! We recommend 1.25 elective credit hours for successful completion of the program.
Installment plans are available. These can be set up by your admissions counselor and will include a deposit payment at the time of registration followed by 12 equal installments billed monthly after the date of your registration. To learn more about these plans you can schedule an appointment with our team or email us at [email protected].
The registration cost for Explore is for a full 10-month academic year.
Yes, there is a discount available when you register siblings together in Equip or Explore. To learn more you can book a call with our admissions team or by emailing [email protected].
The cost of enrollment ranges from $10,000-$25,500. To review enrollment packages, current pricing, and pricing deadlines, click here!
APEX is held in Lake City, MI, August 13-17.
Basecamp is held in Manns Choice, PA, October 20-24.
Ridgeline will be held in Panama City, FL, January 29-Feb 1.
Capstone is held in Estes Park, CO, April 15-19.
All dates and locations are subject to slight changes.
Travel to the first event of the year, APEX, is included in tuition fees. It is not included for the following three events after APEX. However, all registration fees, room, board, food, plus a shuttle to and from the event venue and the airport are included.
The majority of students fly to and from events. Often, if one of their flights is going through a major hub, they’ll be able to meet up with other students for part of their flights. However, depending on their proximity to the event, students can also drive, or carpool with other students who are driving, to get to the events.
Ascend events connect students with each other in a team and community environment where they can build lasting relationships, develop practical skills, grow in resilience, and be challenged to achieve more than they think is possible through team challenges and hands-on projects. APEX is our national student convention focused on orientation for the year as students meet their Ascend Teams, Team Leaders, and Unbound staff in person for the first time. Basecamp is our hands-on practical skills intensive focused on resilience and personal ownership. Ridgeline is our hands-on project intensive focused on creating value and accomplishing real things in the real world. And Capstone is our leadership intensive focused on living with hope in a fallen world.
Ascend Teams are led by Ascend Team Leaders (ATLs). ATLs are Ascend alumni or older students who have applied for, been accepted, and are specifically trained to lead a team. ATLs complete ongoing training throughout each year they lead as well that enables them to continue building and improving their leadership skills.
Ascend Teams are typically assigned based on time-zone and student goals and interests. Sometimes students enroll with siblings or friends and have team requests based on that which are also always taken into consideration.
Ascend teams meet monthly via Zoom to discuss the monthly webinar, support each other through their courses and projects, and receive coaching and mentorship from their ATLs specific to where they are in life and what kinds of decisions they are facing.
Each Ascend Team includes 8-10 students and one Ascend Team Leader.
Past Ascend projects include:
And many more!
The first phase of the Ascend project is ideation. Students brainstorm, come up with as many ideas as they can by answering questions like, “What am I interested in (even just a little)?”, “What jobs do I think sound kind of fun?”, “What hobbies do I like most?”, “What people do I want to serve?”, “What do I want to get better at?”, then narrow it down to their top 3-5 through research as they explore what it would take to turn their ideas into projects.
Ascend projects are required to take a minimum of 40 hours to complete and whatever is chosen must be personal, meaningful, relevant, and challenging to the student. Ultimately, every project is approved by a student’s Ascend Team Leader, and if a student is struggling to come up with something or to narrow it down, their team leader will be able to support and coach them through it.
Each year in Ascend the project requirements change. In the first year, Ascend Foundations, students take an idea they’re passionate about from concept to reality. In the second year, Ascend Challenge, students help take someone else’s idea from concept to reality. And in the third and final year, Ascend Launch, students lead a team taking either their own or someone else’s idea from concept to reality.
Ascend Team Leaders are there to help guide, support, and coach students throughout the entire year. This includes checking in on student projects, providing feedback on progress, and supporting students if they need to make adjustments along the way. As long as students are maintaining contact with their team leader and letting them know as soon as possible when they have questions or need help with something, they’ll be good to go.
Specialty tracks are 10 months long, lasting just as long as one year in Ascend, and you can do one at a time. To learn more about the available tracks, visit our pricing tool page, and scroll down to the “Career Tracks” section.
Yes and yes. If you are taking accredited college courses as part of your Ascend enrollment you will receive a degree plan that includes the steps you will need to complete to transfer to your target university when that time comes. These steps typically include applying to your university of choice and upon acceptance, sending them your college transcripts so they can build out your degree plan including all of your completed and remaining courses in their systems.
It would be easier to tell you which degrees aren’t available. Anything in the fields of medicine, engineering, and music are not fully supported by the Ascend program. While we may be able to offer your general education courses, the majority of your degree will have on campus requirements starting as early as your sophomore year, sometimes earlier. Just about anything else though? We’ve got you.
On average, students spend 10-15 hours each week on Ascend assignments. Students enrolled on the certificate track without college credit spend 10 hours, 9 credit students spend 15, 15 credit students spend 25, and 30 credit students spend 35-40. Career tracks add on average 5-10 hours each week and are not available for 30 credit students.
This depends entirely on the student. Each year we have a mix of students who are finishing high school or already graduated. The best way to determine if your student can manage Ascend alongside high school is to talk to an admissions counselor about the time commitment.
While ultimately it comes down to each individual student and their schedule, the vast majority of Ascend students work part or full time while completing the program.
Yes! For students taking a gap year we offer an Ascend: What’s Next? package. Book a call with our team to learn more about this option.
There is not a strict age limit, however, we usually recommend that students be at least 16 years old, and not older than 25, to have the best experience in the program. If you’re not sure whether your student would be a good fit or not, book an appointment with our team and we’ll help you figure that out.
Is your question still not answered? Schedule a call with our team, and we’ll get you the information you need!
