Financial Services Offered by Sallie Mae

You’re on the road to college and wondering how you’ll pay for it. Or maybe it’s your kid who’s looking for funds. Either way, you’re probably looking for as much information about student loans as you can. We’re here to help.

In 1972, Sallie Mae was created as a “government-sponsored entity” (GSE). In 2004, all ties to the U.S. government were severed, and Sallie Mae became a completely private operation. Today, its primary purpose is to provide federal and private student loans to college students, and 10 million people currently have their student loans with Sallie Mae, which either owns or manages the loans. Sallie Mae also sponsors its own charitable organization that supports programs to help more students attain higher education.

One of Sallie Mae’s loan programs is called the “Smart Option Student Loan.” This school-certified program helps students build good credit, save money, and pay off their educational debt more quickly. While in school, the student makes payments only on the interest, which helps him avoid paying capitalized interest. This significantly reduces the total cost of the loan. The minimum amount you may borrow under this loan program is $1,000, but you may borrow the entire cost of your education.

The repayment plans Sallie Mae offers include income-based, income-sensitive, standard, graduated, and extended. Income-based repayment puts a cap on the loan so the borrower can afford the monthly payments. Income-sensitive lets you decide what percentage of your gross monthly income will go towards paying your student loan. Standard repayment costs less in the long run, and like most loans, the payments are a regular amount each month that covers a portion of the principal and the accruing interest. The graduated plan provides interest-only payments at the beginning of repayment, and the extended repayment plan lets you take up to 25 years to repay the loan. Deferment and forbearance are other options that can permit the borrower to postpone repayment under special circumstances.

Sallie Mae also offers a credit card with an introductory annual percentage rate of zero percent for up to twelve months, as well as cash back on purchases.

The Upromise program that helps parents save money for their children’s college education is also managed by Sallie Mae. Parents create an account for each child on the website, and for every qualified purchase made with a registered credit or debit card, a certain amount of money is deposited into the child’s account.