APR Starting at 4.50%
Pros
- Open for non-US citizens
- Part-time students are welcome to apply for a loan
- Only need 12 months for a cosigner release
Cons
- Minimum credit score is disclosed on the website
- Too many loan options to choose from which students may find confusing
Financial aid is what many students need to pay for their tuition fees and their needs in school. This is when Sallie Mae comes to the rescue. The company offers private loans to students with different degrees so if you’re a business, or law student, or someone who’s an aspiring dentist. Sallie Mae could be a top choice for students nowadays because of its flexible repayment options, substantial grace periods, and very high acceptance rates. With Sallie Mae, you have access to obtaining a saving account, acquiring a loan, and college planning tools.
About Sallie Mae
Sallie Mae has been supporting student education for over 50 years and was established in 1972. It has established a great reputation as the student’s lender of choice by providing one of the broadest selections of student loans such as undergraduate loans, MBA student loans, and parent loans.
All types of credit, income levels, and students are eligible for loans. They have a mobile app that made their service more accessible for finding rates and acquiring their learning resources. If you have any questions or concerns, they can be easily contacted because of the long customer service hours, either via phone or email. Moreover, you can choose among the loan types they offer with flexible repayment options.
The Better Business Bureau gave Sallie Mae an A+ rating demonstrating the organization’s dependability and integrity in conducting business. Moreover, the company is overflowing the several awards from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance award for Best Online Savings Account and the Ron Brown Award applauding them for Corporate Leadership. Sallie Mae is also a 5-time awardee of 100 Best Corporate Citizens by Corporate Responsibility Officer.
Sallie Mae is highly recommended and is a trusted lending company. It is guaranteed that your information is protected by industry-standard security measures which include physical, administrative, and technological security measures.
Who can apply for Sallie Mae?
Their loans are a great option for almost any student who needs to pay for their schooling. The widest selection of student loans is provided by Sallie Mae that will work for you whether you are a student studying medicine, dentistry, law, business, or another field.
Here’s a list of what’s covered on their private student loans:
• Undergraduate loan
• MBA student loan
• Graduates in health professions
• Medical and dental residency
• Medical and dental school
• Law school
• Bar study loan
• Career training and trade school student loan
Non-US citizens can also apply for their loans as well as those who want the most repayment flexibility, which is not offered usually by many private lenders. Normally, if you wish to apply for a loan, you must be a US citizen or possess a citizenship card. But with Sallie Mae, non-US citizens can apply just with a cosigner. Part-time students are also permitted to apply which is also not common in the business.
What benefits can you get with Sallie Mae?
Loan deferment and forbearance
Some of the best and probably the most lavish features of Sallie Mae are their forbearance and deferment options that you can use for your loans. Forbearance enables you to postpone your loan payments, whilst deferment allows you to stop making them altogether. Students now have additional options for repaying loans with comfort and ease thanks to both of these features.
Loan repayment plans
With the variety of repayment options offered by Sallie Mae loans, you are not forced to stick with a single option that doesn’t fit your finances or lifestyle. They allow students to repay their loans whenever and however they possibly can. Additionally, the loan can be repaid over a period of time of 10 to 15 years. Sallie Mae has flexible repayment plans that are suitable for college students and there are different options to pay off your debt.
Interest rates come in two varieties: fixed and variable. You can choose whether you want to make no payments while you’re in school and postpone everything till after your grace period expires. On the other hand, you could pay a predetermined amount each month while you’re in school and wait until you graduate to begin paying off a larger balance. You can also pay until the end of your grace period with interest-only installments. When selecting a loan provider, flexibility is an important factor.
Having a cosigner
One more thing about Sallie Mae is allowing students to apply with a cosigner. If you don’t get approved for a loan on your own, you may be able to get a loan with a cosigner. This means someone else will have to guarantee the loan, meaning you won’t have to worry about getting back any money if you can’t pay it back. Sallie Mae also provides a cosigner release only after making 12 consecutive payments.
How to apply on Sallie Mae?
For students, the application process with Sallie Mae was made fairly simple. In less than 15 minutes, you can complete the entire form online and receive approval right away. Sallie Mae will present you with several loan options after your application has been accepted. The application process can be prolonged for some applicants when they are asked to submit more supporting documents or additional information.
After accepting the loan terms, you need to bring some paperwork to your school before processing the application. Normally, it takes 10 business days to finish the process, but this might take much longer given how quickly your school can validate your information and confirm the loan.
Prior to receiving a rate quotation, your credit record will be pulled. If you have poor credit, this will lower your likelihood of being approved. Sallie Mae allows cosigners to apply so your chances of getting approved may go up with your cosigner’s good credit. He or she may also be able to get you lower interest rates.
Commonly, these are the information and documents that you and your cosigner should provide upon application:
• Current address of residency
• Contact information
• Total amount required
• Social security number
• Financial statements (rent payments, monthly mortgage, bank accounts)
• Employment information
• Student information (such as degree program, student’s curriculum, and enrollment status)
• Academic year or period of enrollment
• Pending and/or Received funding or scholarship
Applying for a private student loan, there’s a number of factors will be taken into account. Even though Sallie Mae doesn’t explicitly list them all, some of these could be your creditworthiness, credit history and loan repayment history, and school enrollment.
Sallie Mae Loan Rates
Fixed and variable fixed annual percentage rates (APRs) for private student loans from Sallie Mae range from 4.50% to 16.20%. You may notice that they offer a fairly wide range. Note that a number of factors will affect the rate in a different way and one of these is the borrower’s credit score. You will be given a higher APR if you have a bad or not satisfying credit. Also, having a cosigner sign up with you for a private student loan has a huge percentage that your rates will be lowered. Other elements that affect your interest rate include your needed amount, the duration of the loan, and your creditworthiness.
Additional fees such as origination fees and prepayment penalties are not imposed by Sallie Mae, which one usually finds a relief. As a result, you can repay as soon as possible and avoid paying interest. But just like any other lending company, late payment fees will be charged if you have failed to make payments by the due date each month.
Contacting Customer Support
Sallie Mae offers customer support that can respond to inquiries. You may call or write an email to a representative during business hours. The website’s well-organized and comprehensive FAQ section is also available for browsing.
Their customer service is available every Monday to Thursday, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM, Friday from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM, Saturday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Eastern Time). They are reachable on their hotline: 855-756-5626 (855-SLM-LOAN).
Overall Rating
For students wishing to fund their college education, Sallie Mae is undeniably a fantastic choice. Their loan options are more flexible compared to many other lending companies, and they are open to non-US citizens and part-time students, which is very rare to find. Sallie Mae lays out several adjustable repayment options, affordable interest rates, and no hidden fees. Your loan comes with a 6-month grace period and Sallie Mae will be more understanding if you need to wait. So, if you are a student and want to borrow money, you should consider this private lender to help with your school finances.
