Sallie Mae Student Loans Review

  • October 13, 2015
  • Posted by: Jeff Gitlen
  • Category: Student Loans
2 Comments
Sallie Mae Homepage
LendEDU Rating (4.75 / 5.0) See Full Ratings
What we like: Repayment Term Flexibility

Sallie Mae is the most well-known and largest student loan lender in the nation—owning over $150 billion in student loan debt. This accounts to over 10 percent of all student loan debt in the United States, according to our statistics. Amidst the numerous controversies Sallie Mae student loans has dealt with, they remain, and should remain, a staple in the industry for years to come.

Sallie Mae, originally called Student Loan Marketing Association, is a publicly traded corporation located out of Newark, Delaware. Sallie Mae student loans focuses on originating and servicing private student loans as well as other banking, credit card, and insurance services. In the fall of 2014, part of Sallie Mae student loans branched off into its own entity—Navient student loans. Navient branched off mainly to take over the servicing duties of Sallie Mae. Though they are now two separate companies, the two work closely together and have a friendly partnership.

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What Options Does Sallie Mae Offer?

Sallie Mae offers a variety of options for those who need some extra financial support to pay for college. All of Sallie Mae’s student loans can be used for any of the expenses associated with college—housing, books, technology, and more. The loans can be used for an undergraduate education, grad school, medical and dental school or residency, and for law school.

For undergrads and grad students, one of the most popular options is the Smart Option Student Loan. This loan offers competitive interest rates—ranging from 3.25% to 11.85%1, no origination fees, and three repayment options. Variable rates range from 3.25% to 10.22%1 while fixed rates range from 5.74% to 11.85%.1

The Deferred Repayment Option allows borrowers to make no payments during school or as much as they want to.1

The Fixed Repayment Option requires just a $25 a month payment while in school and results in over 10% savings on the total amount of the loan as compared to the Deferred Repayment Option.1

Finally, the Interest Repayment Option allows students to pay the interest on their loan while in school, resulting in an average savings of over 20%.1

Borrowers can choose a repayment term anywhere from 5 to 15.*​

There are multiple benefits of the Smart Option Student Loan as well. First, Sallie Mae student loans offers a 2% bonus for those who make their payments on time while in school. Also, borrowers can earn up to 0.25% interest rate reduction if they opt to use the automatic payment option for their loans.

Lastly, Sallie Mae is are the only lender to offer a flexible repayment option for borrowers. This allows graduates to make 12 interest only payments after the grace period—the time after graduation in which borrowers don’t have to make payments on their loans.

Both the Medical and Dental Residency and Relocation loans provide anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000 depending on the needs of the individual. In addition, no payments are required while in school or for three years after graduation. These two loans also offer the same automatic payment discount as the Smart Option Student Loan.

The Bar Study Loan from Sallie Mae student loans allows for students studying for the bar exam to borrow anywhere from $1,000 to $15,000. Payments can be deferred until 9 months after graduation or leaving school.

sallie mae private student loans

Variable Rates

3.25% - 10.22%1

Fixed Rates

5.74% - 11.85%1

Terms

5 - 15 years*

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Next Steps

You can apply for a Sallie Mae private student loan on the company’s website, but it’s important to shop around first to find the lender that will offer you the lowest rate. Use our private student loan comparison tool to get rate estimates from Sallie Mae and other lenders all in one place. Click on the button below to get started.

Can I Refinance With Sallie Mae?

Sallie Mae student loans doesn’t offer any refinancing or consolidation services themselves. Like with any loan, however, borrowers can always use other private lenders for student loan consolidation and refinancing. Many applicants are offered lower interest rates than their current loans as they now have a job and are more creditworthy. In addition, multiple loans can be consolidated into one, making the repayment process much easier.

Here at LendEDU we have one common application that shows up to 5 interest rates from our partners. Our quick and simple application utilizes a free credit score that doesn’t hurt the users credit. Interest rates even start as low as 2.21%.

Use our student loan refinance comparison tool to see what interest rate and repayment term you’re likely to receive from up to 5 of the leading student loan refinance lenders, all without affecting your credit score. Click the button below to get started.

Compare personalized refinance rates >

What Other Options are There Besides Sallie Mae Student Loans?

Since so many students are turning to borrowing money to reach their education goals, student loans organizations are becoming more and more popular. Persons are taking education serious nowadays and to attend a college of their choice they have to depend on loans borrowed from recognized organizations. 

There are some options open to students and two of them are deciding between getting a scholarship or choosing to accept student loans. So which is better for you: a scholarship or student loans? Sometimes scholarships are difficult to come by because of the vast amount of students applying for them. You might have a problem to get a positive response after sending in your application letter. Anyway, it is still worth a try, so go for it. Getting a company or your own government to sponsor you by giving a scholarship in your name is an easy gift to get, especially when you might be too scared to go after student loans. As you know, obtaining a scholarship can take lots of stress from off your shoulder in a number of ways. A reason to feel great about a scholarship is because you do not have to pay any college tuition fees whatsoever, as long as you continue to meet the scholarships requirements. Just think about it, studying without having to worry about money to pay certain bills take the cake anytime.

Because Sallie Mae student loans is the biggest doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the best. It is always smart to take a look at other lenders out there to see what kind of rates they offer. If you are looking for some other ideas, take a look at our other reviews such as Discover Student Loans and Wells Fargo Student Loans.

Sallie Mae has been a leader in the student loan industry since its inception in 1973. Based on their current size and success, we don’t see any reason why they won’t remain at the top for years to come.

Sallie Mae Student Loan Disclosures

See Sallie Mae Disclosures1,2,3 and Important Repayment Disclosure*

4.75 1,000 Cost of Attendance

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