SLM - Sallie Mae Helps Families Bridge the Financing Gap With Competitive Private Student Loans

College-bound students and their families are busy putting their paying-for-college plans together, and some plans may reveal a need for financing. After families maximize money that doesn’t need to be repaid, like scholarships, grants, savings, and income, private student loans, like those offered by Sallie Mae, are a smart and responsible option to cover remaining college costs.

With competitive fixed and variable rates and other compelling benefits, 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 Smart Option Student Loan can cover all school-certified expenses for the school year, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, housing, meals, travel, and even a laptop. Students are nearly four times more likely to be approved when they apply with a creditworthy cosigner, and it may also help them secure a better interest rate.

Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loan 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 29% 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.

The Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loan also offers:

Full-year borrowing: Full year borrowing means students can apply once and receive the funds they need for an entire school year, rather than by semester, securing a single loan to manage for the full year.

Sallie Mae’s Study Starter Benefit: An industry-leading benefit available to all Sallie Mae undergraduate private student loan customers, Study Starter gives students four months of free access to study tools and thousands of tutors, available 24/7, to help them achieve success in school.

Repayment flexibility: Students have 18 months after leaving school to request a Graduated Repayment Period offering greater budget flexibility by allowing customers 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.

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

“Over the last five years, more than 2 million families have trusted Sallie Mae to help them pay for college,” said Kelly Christiano, senior vice president, Sallie Mae. “We consistently listen to our customers and understand their growing needs, resulting in solutions like full-year borrowing options and repayment flexibility, and making Sallie Mae the ideal choice for families looking to cover any gaps in college financing.”

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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