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Sallie Mae Personal Loans Review

Sallie Mae is no longer offering personal loans.

To compare other options, check out our picks for the best personal loans.


About Sallie Mae

Sallie Mae has been in the student loan business since the 1970s. While it began as a federal loan servicer, it has since moved into providing private student loans for undergraduates, grad students, and parents. Additionally, Sallie Mae used to offer personal loans, but they were available on an invitation-only basis and you need an offer code to apply.

How to Get a Sallie Mae Personal Loan

With most of the personal loan lenders, you can visit their website, submit a quick application, and see if you can qualify for a loan within minutes. But you could not do this with Sallie Mae. Personal loans from Sallie Mae were invite-only, so you needed to be offered a personal code before you can apply.

Offer Codes

Offer codes were sent out only to people whom Sallie Mae determined were likely to qualify for a loan. While this makes the loan approval process quick and easy if you happen to get an offer code, you are out of luck if you haven’t received one.

There’s no option to request an offer code, and having other loans with Sallie Mae did not guarantee you’ll receive one.

If you did get an offer code, you could then submit an online application, and chances were good you’ll be approved. However, Sallie Mae still needed to verify that you met basic eligibility criteria, including:

  • Having good credit (or a cosigner with good credit)
  • Earning sufficient income
  • Being of legal age in your state
  • Being a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States
  • Having a valid bank account

Because only pre-approved borrowers could apply, the application and funding process was extremely fast. In fact, funds might have been available as quickly as the next business day once you have completed the application process.

Basic Information: Rates, Terms, Fees & Limits

Here were some of the key things about personal loans from Sallie Mae if you had considered applying for a loan

  • Fixed APRs
  • Loan amounts up to $35,000
  • Loan terms up to 60 months
  • No origination fees or prepayment penalties

The Benefits and Downsides of Sallie Mae Personal Loans

What we liked

  • No fees
  • Free FICO scores
  • Straightforward paperwork process
  • Loans can be used for many purposes

Things consumers had to keep in mind

  • Limited availability
  • High interest rates
  • Few repayment options

Bottom Line: Is a Sallie Mae Personal Loan Right for You?

Sallie Mae no longer offers personal loans. If you did get a preapproval code in the past, and wanted to see what rate Sallie Mae was offering you, it didn’t hurt to check.

For any personal loan, you should always compare rates and loan terms from other financial institutions as some loans are very expensive.


About our contributors

  • Christy Rakoczy
    Written by Christy Rakoczy

    Christy Rakoczy has been a personal finance and legal writer since 2008. She has a Juris Doctor degree from UCLA School of Law and was a college instructor before she began writing for the web.