With over 45 years of experience in the student loan industry, Sallie Mae is one of the most well-known student loan companies in business. So if you’re considering taking out private student loans, Sallie Mae could be a good choice.
Sallie Mae private student loans overview
Sallie Mae offers many types of private student loans to students, parents, or sponsors of students. It also offers medical or dental residency loans as well as bar study loans.
If you decide to take out student loans with Sallie Mae, here’s what you need to know:
| Loan amounts | Students can borrow up to 100% of the school-certified cost of attendance5 |
| Loan terms | 5-15 years |
| Fees | No origination fee and no penalty for paying your loan off early 3 |
| Discounts | Get a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction for automatic debit enrollment4 |
| Citizenship/Residency | U.S. Citizen or U.S. Permanent Resident. Non-U.S. citizen students, including DACA students attending a school located in the U.S., are eligible to apply with a creditworthy cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident with required U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) documentation. Please visit SallieMae.com for more information |
| Enrollment | Available to students enrolled full-time, half-time, and less than half-time. Specialized graduate loans are also available. |
| Income | Contact lender directly for details |
| Repayment | Multiple repayment options—Choose monthly in-school payments (interest or fixed monthly amount) or defer payments until after leaving school1 Undergraduate students who choose the Interest Repayment Option receive an interest rate that is 1 percentage point lower than the Deferred Repayment Option1 Graduated Repayment Period7 - Request to make 12 monthly interest-only payments after you finish school |
| Cosigner info | You may apply to release your cosigner from the loan after you graduate, make 12 on-time principal and interest payments, and meet certain credit requirements8 |
| Other perks | Get Quarterly FICO® Credit Scores online for free—You can view your quarterly FICO® Score on your Sallie Mae account, along with access to the key factor(s) affecting your score and educational content to help you understand why your FICO® Score is important. This free benefit is available to both borrowers and cosigners |
| Loan servicer: | Sallie Mae |
How to get private student loans with Sallie Mae
Before applying for and taking out a private student loan, you should consider your options and rates from different lenders. You can use Credible to quickly and easily compare private student loan lenders. You can even check your prequalified rates without a hard credit pull (so it won’t affect your credit).
The company above is one of Credible’s approved partner lenders. Because they compete for your business through Credible, you can request rates from them by filling out a single form. Then, you can compare your available options side-by-side. Requesting rates is free, doesn’t affect your credit score, and your personal information is not shared with our partner lenders unless you see an option you like. Credible receives compensation if you close a loan with one of our partner lenders. The rates you receive and the fees you pay (if any) are not impacted by this compensation.
Sallie Mae Disclosures
Borrow responsibly We encourage students and families to start with savings, grants, scholarships, and federal student loans to pay for college. Students and families should evaluate all anticipated monthly loan payments, and how much the student expects to earn in the future, before considering a private student loan.
Disclosures: This information is for borrowers attending degree-granting institutions only. Smart Option Student Loan information is for undergraduate borrowers only. You must be attending a participating school located in the U.S. or have attended one during an eligible prior enrollment period. You must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident or a Non-U.S. citizen borrower with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident) and required U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) documentation. U.S. citizens and permanent residents enrolled in eligible study abroad programs or who are attending or have attended schools located outside the U.S. are also eligible. Applications are subject to a requested minimum loan amount of $1,000. Current credit and other eligibility criteria apply.
1 Interest rates for Fixed and Deferred Repayment Options are higher than interest rates for the Interest Repayment Option. You’re charged interest and your selected repayment option applies starting at disbursement, while in school and during your separation or grace period. When you enter principal and interest repayment, Unpaid Interest will be added to your loan’s Current Principal. Variable rates may increase over the life of the loan. Advertised variable rates reflect the starting range of rates and may vary outside of that range over the life of the loan. Advertised APRs assume a $10,000 Smart Student Loan to a freshman with no other Sallie Mae loans and a $10,000 Graduate School Loan to a first-year graduate.
2Smart Option Student Loan for undergraduate students: This repayment example is based on a typical loan to a borrower who chooses a variable rate and the Fixed Repayment option for a $10,000 loan, with two disbursements, and a 9.09% variable APR. It works out to 51 payments of $25.00, 119 payments of $165.12 and one payment of $120.75, for a Total Loan Cost of $21,045.03. Variable rates may increase over the life of the loan.
Graduate School Loan: This repayment example is based on a typical loan to a first-year graduate borrower who chooses a variable rat and the Fixed Repayment option for a $10,000 loan, with two disbursements, a 0% disbursement fee, and an 8.27% variable APR. It works to 27 payments of $25.00, 179 payments of $108.53 and one payment of $62.93, for a Total Loan Cost of $20,164.80. Variable rates may increase over the life of the loan.3 Although we do not charge you a penalty or fee if you prepay your loan, any prepayment will be applied as provided in your promissory note: First to Unpaid Fees and costs, then to Unpaid Interest, and then to Current Principal.
4 Borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae. The rate reduction benefit applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month, and may therefore be suspended during a forbearance or deferment period.
5 Sallie Mae reserves the right to approve a lower loan amount than the school-certified amount.
6 Borrowers and cosigners who have an available FICO® Score and a Sallie Mae loan with a current balance greater than $0, may receive their score quarterly after the first disbursement of their loan. The FICO® Score provided to you is the FICO® Score 8 based on TransUnion data, and is the same score that Sallie Mae uses, along with other information, to manage your account. FICO® Scores and associated educational content are provided solely for your own non-commercial personal review, use and benefit. This benefit may change or end in the future. FICO® is a registered trademark of the Fair Isaac Corporation in the United States and other countries.
7 Available for loans used to pay qualified higher education expenses at a degree-granting institution. Graduated Repayment Period (GRP) allows interest-only payments for 12 billing periods after principal and interest repayment begins. At the time of GRP request, the loan must be current (not past due). Customers may request GRP during the six billing periods before and the 12 billing periods immediately after the loan first enters principal and interest repayment. GRP does not extend the loan term. GRP increases the Total Loan Cost and monthly payments after the GRP will be higher than they would have been without it.
8 Only the borrower may apply for cosigner release. Borrowers who meet the age of majority in their state may apply for cosigner release by providing proof of graduation (or completion of certification program), income, and U.S. citizenship or permanent residency (if your status has changed since you applied). In the last 12 months, the borrower must be current on all Sallie Mae serviced loans (including no hardship forbearances or modified repayment programs) and have paid ahead or made 12 on-time principal and interest payments on each loan requested for release. When the cosigner release application is processed, the borrower must demonstrate the ability to assume full responsibility of the loan(s) individually, and pass a credit review that demonstrates a satisfactory credit history including but not limited to no: open bankruptcy, open foreclosure, student loan(s) in default or 90 day delinquencies in the last 24 months. Requirements are subject to change.
9 If a student dies or becomes permanently and totally disabled, Sallie Mae will waive all remaining payments on the loan.
Credible is compensated by Sallie Mae for the referral of Sallie Mae Loan customers.
Sallie Mae loans are made by Sallie Mae Bank or a lender partner. Information advertised valid as of 10/25/2018.
SALLIE MAE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND BENEFITS
AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE.
© 2018 Sallie Mae Bank. All rights reserved. Sallie Mae, the Sallie Mae logo, and other Sallie Mae names and logos are service marks or registered service marks of Sallie Mae Bank. All other names and logos used are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries, including Sallie Mae Bank, are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.
