SLM - Looking to Cover Remaining College Costs? A Private Student Loan From Sallie Mae Can Help

College-bound students and their families are making final arrangements for the fall semester, including financing tuition, room and board, and related college expenses. A private student loan from Sallie Mae® can be a competitive and responsible to way to cover any remaining costs.

With starting variable rates ranging from 3.37% to 10.75% APR with auto-debit discount and fixed rates ranging from 4.74% to 11.35% APR, the Sallie Mae Smart Option private student loan for undergraduates is one of the most competitively priced options for students and families. In fact, the starting variable rate is currently the lowest among private student lenders.

Sallie Mae is also the only lender that provides study services as part of its loan products. Both Sallie Mae undergraduate loans and parent loans, give students four months of free access to Chegg Study®.

Sallie Mae’s private student loans for college have no origination fees or prepayment penalties. Available to undergraduate students attending degree-granting institutions, Sallie Mae’s private student loans can cover all school-certified expenses for the school year, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, housing, meals, travel, and even a laptop.

Sallie Mae private student loans for undergraduates also offer:

Full-year borrowing: Full-year borrowing means students can apply once and receive the funds they need for an entire school year with just a single credit check. Moreover, 93% of customers who return for additional financing with the same co-signer are approved.

Repayment flexibility: Students have 18 months after leaving school to request a Graduated Repayment Period offering greater budget flexibility by allowing them to make 12 interest-only payments before transitioning into full principal and interest payments.

Cosigner release: Customers may apply to have their cosigner released from the loans after they graduate, meet certain credit requirements, and make 12 on-time principal and interest payments — the shortest qualification period among private student lenders.

Free access to credit scores: Customers have access to their FICO® Score on a quarterly basis, along with information about factors that affect credit scores and why monitoring credit scores is important.

“Families continue to trust Sallie Mae to help them pay for college, more than any other private lender,” said Kelly Christiano, senior vice president, Sallie Mae. “We’re proud to continue to offer industry-leading rates and options like full-year borrowing and the shortest qualification for cosigner release, which give students and families peace of mind and confidence in financing college.”

Customers can choose to make monthly interest-only or a $25 fixed payment while in school or defer payments until after school. Customers can reduce their interest rate by as much as 1.25 percentage points when they enroll in the automatic debit option and choose the in-school interest repayment option, or by .75 percentage points when they enroll in the automatic debit option and choose the fixed repayment option instead of deferring payments.

A freshman customer who makes interest-only payments on a Smart Option Student Loan while in school could save an average of 28% on their total loan cost, and a freshman customer who makes $25 monthly fixed payments while in school could save an average of 14% on their total loan cost, compared to the deferred payment option. More than half of Sallie Mae customers choose to make payments while in school, and more than 97% of loans in repayment are paid on time. In addition, more than 90% of Sallie Mae customers complete their program of study.

Providing another option to help families finance a student’s education, Sallie Mae also offers a private Parent Loan and loans for graduate students with competitive fixed and variable interest rates, no origination fee, and a choice of repayment options.

For more information, or to apply visit SallieMae.com.

Sallie Mae (Nasdaq: SLM) believes education and life-long learning, in all forms, help people achieve great things. As the leader in private student lending, we provide financing and know-how to help make college happen and offer products and resources to help customers make new goals and experiences, beyond college, possible. Learn more at SallieMae.com. Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.

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