3.8
5.5
Overall Score
Sallie Mae is a top private student loan lender focusing on offering student loan options for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. Sallie Mae provides loans to borrowers who may be ineligible with other lenders and strives to offer various banking products, including credit card options, as well as college savings opportunities to all borrowers.
Continue reading for pros and cons, and Sallie Mae loans reviews.
Sallie Mae provides loans to U.S. citizens, permanent residents studying outside of the United States, as well as non-citizens living in the U.S., offering service to a wider range of borrowers than many other companies. Not all companies offer products and services to non-citizens in particular, so this is a good option for international students who may be studying the United States.
Sallie Mae offers a specific Smart Option Student Loan for undergraduate students. This loan, seemingly their most popular loan, provides two interest rate options: a fixed interest rate with a 5.74 percent to 11.85 percent APR, and a variable interest rate with a 3.25 percent to 10.01 percent APR.
The fixed interest rate for this loan allows students to have predictable monthly payments as well as a non-changing interest rate. With the variable interest rate, students may save money with a lower interest rate than the fixed interest rate which could pave the way for an overall lower cost for their student loan. The Smart Option Student Loan also gives students three repayment options: the deferred repayment option, the fixed repayment option, and the interest repayment option:
Sallie Mae does not charge an application fee, origination fee, or prepayment penalty fee. However, a late fee of 5 percent of the amount to be paid is charged when a borrower misses a monthly payment.
The Sallie Mae mobile app allows borrowers to make payments for single and/or multiple loans at any time and anywhere. It also allows you to view your payment history, get more information on specific loans, receive payment confirmation in real time, log in with fingerprint identification, receive push notifications, and pay with Siri for iPhone users. The app is available for both Apple and Android systems.
According to their website, Sallie Mae provides three tools to help students create a college payment plan. One tool is a video explaining the "1-2-3 approach," which is a way to determine how you will pay for college. Sallie Mae also has a college planning calculator to help students develop a set plan. The last tool available is the scholarship search tool which is meant to help students see the variety of scholarships they could potentially achieve.
Receiving approval for a Sallie Mae student loan can be difficult, especially if you do not have an established credit history or good to excellent credit. Sallie Mae does not have a disclosed minimum credit score listed on its website, but most student loan lenders require a minimum credit score of 650, which may be difficult for many college-aged students to meet.
Borrowers can apply with a creditworthy cosigner to increase their chance of approval. This would also be recommended in order to get lower interest rates than you would receive otherwise. It is important to note that Sallie Mae does offer a cosigner release.
The lowest fixed APR rate is higher with Sallie Mae than many other student loan companies. The lowest APR rate that is available for Sallie Mae's fixed rate option is 5.74 percent APR. This could result in borrowers spending significantly more than they would a variable APR rate. Although a variable APR rate is subject to change, it has the chance to be much lower than a 5.74 percent fixed APR rate.
As a private student loan lender, Sallie Mae does not offer any student loan forgiveness. Most private lenders do not offer this service. If you are looking for a loan forgiveness product, it might be best to look into a federal loan for financing your educational needs.
Sallie Mae's website does not clearly provide the fee amount that is applied when there is a late payment on a loan. It does mention that there will be late fees charged if there are late payments to a loan which would overall increase the loan cost, but does not give any easily located details.
The company will automatically group your loans if you have multiple loans with them. Borrowers may have their loans ungrouped with a separate billing statement only if they contact Sallie Mae first and then request the separation. Because this feature is automatic, borrowers lack the ability to reject the grouping change before it happens.
Sallie Mae provides good student loan options especially for undergraduate students. With student loan options for a wide range of borrowers, including non-citizens studying in the United States, Sallie Mae services to more individuals than other lenders in the industry. It also has helpful tools for students to figure out their college payment plans and good mobile features.
However, they do have a rather high rate for their lowest fixed APR option, they do not have much clarity when it comes to fees, and they have automatic features that may not be the best fit for every borrower's needs.
Filter by:
Sort by:
Verified Customer
Review Source
Clark Yarbrough
7 years ago
Eddie Rios Ogden, UT
4 years ago
Verified Customer
Review Source
Brenda Stough Dora, AL
7 years ago
Joseph Faenza Washington, DC
1 year ago
Alicia Holman Gilbert, AZ
6 years ago
Review Source
Daniel Cebrero Henderson, NV
2 years ago
Michelle W Coraopolis, PA
4 years ago
Cheryl Stone Phoenix, AZ
1 year ago
Charity Curtis
7 years ago
Review Source
J B Sandy, UT
2 years ago Edited January 24, 2022
Review Source
Kaitlyn Rios Ogden, UT
4 years ago
Brenda Spanish Fork, UT
5 years ago
Verified Customer
Review Source
Michelle Vickery Toccoa, GA
7 years ago
Bella Houtz South Jordan, UT
6 years ago
Review Source
Vy Ha Birmingham, AL
2 years ago
Review Source
Sirdriz77 Fairfield, CT
2 years ago
Review Source
Dwhoush New Orleans, LA
4 years ago
Review Source
Julie Taylor Ogden, UT
4 years ago
Review Source
Virginia Rosenthal Pleasant Grove, UT
5 years ago
Review Source
kerry perez Orem, UT
5 years ago
Review Source
Dean Ogden, UT
5 years ago
Fernando Delgado Tempe, AZ
5 years ago
Verified Customer
Review Source
Gregory Antonowich Garfield, NJ
7 years ago
Stephanie Faenza Phoenix, AZ
1 year ago
James Nelson Falls Church, VA
6 years ago
Review Source
Kara Wain Bonifay, FL
2 years ago
Review Source
Michelle Chandler, OK
2 years ago
Review Source
Mandi Colorado Springs, CO
2 years ago
Review Source
Aimee Mortensen Salt Lake City, UT
4 years ago
Review Source
Zac Cannon Long Beach, MS
4 years ago
Review Source
L Gilbert, AZ
6 years ago
Verified Customer
Review Source
Sue Mesa, AZ
7 years ago
Rhonda stewart Queen Creek, AZ
6 years ago
Review Source
Carolyn Hazleton, PA
2 years ago
Review Source
Mary Greenwood Anniston, AL
2 years ago
Review Source
WT
2 years ago Edited January 5, 2022
Review Source
Jwat1213 New Market, MD
3 years ago Edited September 14, 2021
Verified Customer
Review Source
Jeff Hofstra Ontario, NY
7 years ago
savannah cleary Havelock, NC
1 year ago
Sicely Lyn Russell Mesa, AZ
3 years ago
sandy silver
6 years ago
Jeffrey Dean New Orleans, LA
6 years ago
kyli kauth
7 years ago
Review Source
Johnson Smithfield, UT
4 years ago
Review Source
Myken , UT
4 years ago
Review Source
Josh Harold Dallas, TX
4 years ago
Review Source
Troy Siren Gilbert, AZ
6 years ago
Josh F Chandler, AZ
1 year ago
Review Source
Amy N Sandy, UT
2 years ago
Review Source
Dara Bottenhagen Chicago, IL
2 years ago
We're on a mission to empower consumers to make the best decisions and connect confidently with companies that deserve their business.
© 2024 BestCompany.com LLC - All rights reserved Privacy Policy | Terms | Do Not Sell My Personal Information