Sallie
Mae Student Loans
When
you have a
Sallie Mae student
loan, you will gain access to their borrower services, including the
option to
manage your loan or loans online.
Sallie
Mae
student loans are an
excellent method of paying for college. Regardless of what type of loan
you end
up qualifying or applying for, Sallie Mae can help you achieve your
academic
goals by providing the access to the funding you need.
Types of Loans
Are Offered
by SLM Corporation?
Sallie
Mae can
help you secure
federal and alternative
student loans.
You should always pursue federal
student loans
first, as they have
the best terms, interest rates and payback policies. The two primary
federal
loans are the Federal Stafford Loan and the Federal Perkins Loan. The
Federal
Perkins Loan is unique because your lender would be the school you wish
to
attend. However, if you opt for the Federal Stafford Loan, Sallie Mae
can
actually act as the lender.
Rather
than
going to a bank for a private
loan,
you should go to Sallie Mae
if you need extra college funding. They offer several types of loans
that can
specifically fit your needs at the time. However, never borrow more
money than
you need. Private loans should only be used as a method of
supplementing your
college financing. It should not be the sole source of financial aid.
You can
also go with a private loan through Sallie Mae if you do not meet the
minimum
requirements for the federal student loans or if a federal loan does
not cover
the cost of your tuition. Private loans are often referred to as alternative
student loans as they are personal and generally not
subsidized.
How
Eligible for a Sallie Mae Student
Loan?
If
you are
seeking to secure a private
loan to help finance your education, your college standing or level of
need
won’t matter so much as your credit score. This can be
difficult, especially
considering most students looking to get a loan have very little or no
credit
history at all! Luckily, Sallie Mae offers cosigner options for those
students
with no credit or the ones in need of bad credit personal signature
loans. This
way, you can get a lower interest rate and will start your credit
history off
right.
The
answer to
this question is
anything but cut and dry. In fact, the answer varies on just what type
of loan
you are interested in. If you are pursuing a federal loan, you will
need to
meet certain minimum requirements, such as a certain GPA, a place
within the
income bracket, U.S. citizenship and no prior defaults on education
loans.
Also,
with a
Sallie Mae student
loan, if it is a private loan, you can ask for larger sums of money.
So, let’s
say you did not qualify for the majority of the financial aid options
and you
are pretty much stuck paying out of pocket. You can get a private loan
from
Sallie Mae to cover the difference.
Caution
Even
if you
cannot get a grant or
scholarship, always try to pay for some of the tuition with your
savings. Doing
so will make it so you do not have to borrow quite as much money. I
know I
mentioned it earlier, but protecting yourself when it comes to
borrowing money
is just too important to gloss over. You should never (ever!) borrow
more money
than you need. Doing so will create unnecessary debt for you and
increase the
temptation to spend loan money for things other than your education
expenses.
You should not rely solely on loans to pay for your college tuition.
Finally,
if you do end up having some money left over from your Sallie Mae
student loan,
be sure to treat it responsibly by putting it into savings. That way,
once you
start making loan payments you will have a nice chunk of cash building
interest.
You should always make your money work for you
whenever possible.
If
you end up getting
a private loan, also be sure you can afford the monthly balance agreed
upon.
Never sign a loan that you are not sure you can pay. If the monthly
balance is
too high for you, tell the lender. Sallie Mae is very flexible and can
work out
an appropriate payment plan for you.
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