Sallie Mae student loans include education loans that are provided by the company Sallie Mae. Before the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act was signed into law in 2010, Sallie Mae served as a lender for both federal and private student loans.
- Now they are only able to provide private student loans due to the abolishment of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP).
Sallie Mae is one of the largest student loan lenders in the entire country, and they currently provide a wide variety of private student loans to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. While the number of loans that they offer has decreased over the past few years, they still offer some very good options for both undergraduate, and graduate students alike.
Sallie Mae Undergraduate Student Loans
Smart Option Student Loan—The Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loan is their flagship private student loan, and the loan product you should pay the most attention to if you are an undergraduate, or graduate student who is in the market for a private education loan.
Yes this loan is designed to benefit both undergraduate and graduate students, and you can borrow up to the cost of attendance minus any financial aid via the Smart Option loan. The loan is school-certified, and follows most of the standard eligibility and approval criteria for most private student loans. This means that it is of course based on credit, and if you don’t have a good credit history it is recommended that you apply with a cosigner.
Career Training Smart Option Student Loan—This loan is similar to the standard Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loan, except that you must be enrolled in an eligible degree program to qualify. You are allowed to make interest-only payments while you are in school in order to reduce your payment amount when the actual repayment period begins post-graduation.
Sallie Mae Graduate Student Loans
- Residency and Relocation Loans
- Bar Study Loan
- Smart Option Student Loan
Residency and Relocation Loan—The Sallie Mae Residency and Relocation Loan is a private student loan that is designed to benefit students who are attending their last year of either dental, or medical school. The great thing about this student loan is that it is able to cover almost any cost that is associated with attending either of these very rigorous professional training programs, including costs that relate to going on interviews for residency.
The key eligibility factor involves being enrolled at an eligible dental, or medical in your final year of study. Minimum loan amounts start at 1,000 dollars, go up to 15,000 dollars, and you are not required to make payments while you’re still in school.
Bar Study Loan—The Sallie Mae Bar Study Loan is designed to benefit students who are enrolled in their final year of law school. It was setup to give students the money they need to pay for the associated costs that come with attending the final year of law school, and in particular the expenses that are related to studying for the BAR exam.
You must be enrolled at an ABA-accredited law school in either your final year of study, or have recently graduated to become eligible for the Bar Study Loan. You must plan to be sitting for the BAR exam no later than twelve months after you graduate to qualify. Loan amounts are similar to the Residency and Relocation Loan, and range from 1,000 dollars, up to 15,000 dollars.
