Sallie Mae

• Range of Borrowers
• Undergraduate Smart Option Student Loan
• No Hidden Fees
• Mobile App Features
• College Payment Plan Tools 

Range of Borrowers

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.

Undergraduate Smart Option Student Loan

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:

• With the deferred repayment option, those with this loan do not have to repay the loan when they are students or during their grace period (six months after they leave school).
• The fixed repayment option is when students pay $25 each month they are in school and in grace.
• Lastly, the interest repayment option has students pay interest every month they are in school and in grace. This last option focuses on lessening the financial strain after the student leaves school.

No Hidden Fees

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.

Mobile App Features

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.

College Payment Plan Tools

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.

Check Rates

• Strict Approval Requirements
• High Fixed APR
• No Student Loan Forgiveness
• Lack of Transparency
• Automatic Settings

Strict Approval Requirements

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.

High Fixed APR

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.

No Student Loan Forgiveness

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.

Lack of Transparency

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.

Automatic Settings

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.