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Sallie Mae is a solid lender that includes four months of Chegg with its undergraduate loans. Sallie Mae charges late fees, though, and you can get better student loan interest rates elsewhere.
Details
Regular Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Variable: 6.37% - 16.70%, Fixed: 4.50% - 15.49%
Origination Fee
$0
Fees
late payment of 5% of the amount due, capped at $25
Editor's Rating
3.25/5
3.25 out of
5 Stars
Pros & Cons
Pros
No prepayment or origination fees
Part-time students eligible
Four months of Chegg included with your loan
International students eligible with an eligible cosigner
Cons
Relatively high APR
Sallie Mae sets repayment term length
Credit check required
Customer service unavailable on Saturday and Sunday
Late payment fee
No loan preapproval
Highlights
More Information
Apply through your computer or mobile device
Customer service available via phone Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET or on Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET
Five, 10, or 15 year repayment term, which will be assigned by Sallie Mae
Loan approval requires a hard credit pull
Loan amounts available: $1,000 minimum, up to 100% cost of attendance
Repayment options available:
Deferred: No payments for up to six months after leaving school
Interest only: Only make payments on the loan's interest while in school and during grace period
Fixed payments: Pay $25 per month while in school and during grace period
Sallie Mae is best for part-time students looking to get a loan. They may find it hard to locate another lender that will offer them a loan.
However, borrowers with excellent credit will likely find lower rates elsewhere.
Types of Student Loans Offered by Sallie Mae
Sallie Mae offers student loans for many types of degrees, including:
Undergraduate
Graduate
Career training and trade school
Law school
Bar study
Dental school
Medical school
MBAs
Health professions
Sallie Mae Student Loans Details
To get a loan, you must meet the following qualifications:
Be enrolled in a degree-granting school full time, half time, or less than half time
Be pursuing a degree or certificate
Be the age of majority in your state (18 years or older in many cases)
Pass a credit check
You should consider your federal student loan options before applying for any private student loan, including one with Sallie Mae, as you can often get better terms and protections through the government.
You can contact customer support by phone Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET or on Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. You are also able to send mail to Sallie Mae at its Delaware address.
Sallie Mae has a well-reviewed app that has received 4.6 out of 5 stars on the Apple store and 4.0 out of 5 stars on the Google Play store. You may like this feature if you want to manage your loan on the go.
Sallie Mae is a solid lender that includes four months of Chegg with its undergraduate loans. Sallie Mae charges late fees, though, and you can get better student loan interest rates elsewhere.
Details
Regular Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Variable: 6.37% - 16.70%, Fixed: 4.50% - 15.49%
Origination Fee
$0
Fees
late payment of 5% of the amount due, capped at $25
Editor's Rating
3.25/5
3.25 out of
5 Stars
Pros & Cons
Pros
No prepayment or origination fees
Part-time students eligible
Four months of Chegg included with your loan
International students eligible with an eligible cosigner
Cons
Relatively high APR
Sallie Mae sets repayment term length
Credit check required
Customer service unavailable on Saturday and Sunday
Late payment fee
No loan preapproval
Highlights
More Information
Apply through your computer or mobile device
Customer service available via phone Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET or on Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET
Five, 10, or 15 year repayment term, which will be assigned by Sallie Mae
Loan approval requires a hard credit pull
Loan amounts available: $1,000 minimum, up to 100% cost of attendance
Repayment options available:
Deferred: No payments for up to six months after leaving school
Interest only: Only make payments on the loan's interest while in school and during grace period
Fixed payments: Pay $25 per month while in school and during grace period
You may like Sallie Mae undergraduate student loans if you want to avoid origination and prepayment fees, as the lender doesn't charge any. You also get four months of the study service Chegg for free. Chegg offers expert Q&A, and students can submit up to 20 questions per month.
However, there are significant drawbacks to Sallie Mae's student loans. The lender charges a late payment of 5% of the amount due, capped at $25. You won't be able to decide your repayment term length — the company assigns you a repayment term. Sallie Mae will also have to generate a hard credit inquiry to give you an approval decision, which could negatively impact your credit score. Most lenders only do a soft inquiry during this process, then a hard pull before you receive your funds.
Graduate student loans aren't Sallie Mae's best offering, as the lender has higher APRs than competitors and doesn't offer many perks. Your only term length option is 15 years. On the bright side, you will avoid paying origination and prepayment fees.
Pros and Cons of Sallie Mae student loans
How to Apply for Sallie Mae Student Loans
1. Gather required information. This includes your Social Security number, your school of enrollment, your enrollment status, the loan amount you need, your address, and other financial documents.
2. Put in the details of your online application. You're apply to complete the application in about 15 minutes, and after doing so you'll get your rates.
3. Send the required supplementary documents. Sallie Mae may need to see financial documents including proof of income and residency.
4. Sign your loan agreement. After you get all your documents in order, Sallie will send you a formal loan agreement. Sallie Mae will fund your loan after you sign on the dotted line.
What Options Do I Have to Repay My Sallie Mae Student Loans?
After taking out your loan, you have three options to repay it: deferred, fixed, and interest-only. Each option has its benefits for different types of borrowers.
Deferred
Fixed
Interest-only
No payments while in school and during six month grace period
Unpaid interest accrues
Higher interest rate than other options
After grace period, pay interest and principal
Pay $25 per month during school and grace period
Unpaid interest accrues
Lower interest rate than deferred payments
After grace period, pay interest and principal
Per Sallie Mae, freshman students may save 12% on their total loan cost vs. deferred payments
Pay loan's interest monthly while in school and during grace period
Lowest interest rate of three options
After grace period, pay interest and principal
Per Sallie Mae, freshman students may save 23% on their total loan cost vs. deferred payments
Sallie Mae Student Loans Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get a student loan from Sallie Mae?
The approval will likely take a few business days.
Is Sallie Mae forgiving student loans?
While there is always a possibility a private company could decide to forgive student loans, the likelihood is extremely slim. No private loans are likely to be forgiven.
Is Sallie Mae trustworthy?
The Better Business Bureau rates Sallie Mae, a BBB-accredited company, an A+. This means the BBB deems the company truthful in how it handles business, effective in its responses to customer complaints, and honest in its advertising.
Sallie Mae Student Loans Competitors
Sallie Mae vs. College Ave
College Ave comes with a better minimum APR on your loan than Sallie Mae, so if your credit is in good shape, College Ave might be the better choice.
You won't pay origination fees or prepayment penalties with either company, but you will pay a late payment of 5% of the amount due, capped at $25, with both lenders.
You'll be able to get your rate and loan approval with College Ave via a soft credit check, which won't impact your credit score. With Sallie Mae, the lender will perform a hard credit inquiry to determine your eligibility, which may negatively affect your credit score.
Sallie Mae vs. Discover Student Loans
Sallie Mae has a similar APR range to Discover Student Loans, though you can get a lower maximum fixed rate with Discover. So if your credit isn't in as good of shape, Discover might be the better option.
Discover has only one standard term available on its undergraduate student loans, 15 years, while Sallie Mae offers options of five, 10, and 15 years. Sallie Mae will assign your loan term to you.
Why You Should Trust Us: How we rated Sallie Mae student loans
We rate all student loan products in our reviews and guides on a 1-5 scale. The overall rating is a weighted average that takes into account seven different categories, some of which are judged more heavily than others. They are:
Interest rate (20% of rating)
Fees (20% of rating)
Term lengths (15% of rating)
Repayment options while in school (15% of rating)
Borrower accessibility (15% of rating)
Customer support (7.5% of rating)
Ethics (7.5% of rating)
Each category's weighting is determined based on its importance to your borrowing experience. Rates and fees have the most significant impact on the total cost of your loan, so we weigh those the most heavily. Customer support and ethics are still crucial parts of the borrowing experience, but do not directly tie to a student loan's terms, so they have less of an impact on the overall rating.
Ryan Wangman was a reporter at Personal Finance Insider reporting on personal loans, student loans, student loan refinancing, debt consolidation, auto loans, RV loans, and boat loans. He is also a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF).In his past experience writing about personal finance, he has written about credit scores, financial literacy, and homeownership. He graduated from Northwestern University and has previously written for The Boston Globe. Learn more about how Personal Finance Insider chooses, rates, and covers financial products and services here >>
Elias Shaya is a junior compliance associate on the Personal Finance Insider team based in New York City.Personal Finance Insider is Insider's personal finance section that incorporates affiliate and commerce partnerships into the news, insights, and advice about money that readers already know and love. The compliance team's mission is to provide readers with stories that are fact-checked and current, so they can make informed financial decisions.The team also works to minimize risk for partners by making sure language is clear, precise, and fully compliant with regulatory and partner marketing guidelines that align with the editorial team. Elias is the point person for the loans sub-vertical and works with the editorial team to ensure that all rates and information for personal and student loans are up to date and accurate.He joined Insider in February 2022 as a fellow on the compliance team.Elias has a Bachelor of Science in International Business from the CUNY College of Staten Island. Prior to joining Insider, he volunteered at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he worked with the biomedical engineering department. In his spare time, Elias enjoys exploring new restaurants, traveling to visit his family in Lebanon, and spending time with friends.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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