Sallie Mae Student Loans Review pros cons easy in 2026

Sallie Mae started its history as a government-sponsored enterprise that serviced federal student loans. But since 2004, it’s been a fully private company. Sallie Mae Student Loans Review

Sallie Mae no longer has anything to do with federal student loans. Instead, it issues private loans for everything from K–12 education to career colleges to undergraduate and graduate school. It’s also a bank with some of the most competitive money market and CD rates.

They are also on our list of the places with the best student loan rates. If you want to see how they compare to other lenders, check out our list of the best private student loan lenders.

Sallie Mae is part of the Credible Platform, which allows you to compare student loan lenders in 2 minutes or less. We love Credible and think you should see how Sallie Mae compares for your situation. Check out Credible here. Sallie Mae Student Loans Review

Sallie Mae Student Loans Rates and Terms

Sallie Mae student loans have repayment options to meet your needs. Undergraduate and graduate loans have three repayment options to choose from:

Interest repayment option: Make interest-only payments while in school²
Fixed repayment option: Pay a fixed amount each month while in school²
Deferred payment option: Make no payments until after school²

Students can also manage their student loans after leaving school with the Graduated Repayment Period, which allows for lower initial payments that gradually increase over time. If you’re looking for payment flexibility as you transition to your career, the Graduated Repayment Period can help. Qualified Smart Option Student Loan and graduate loan borrowers can elect to make 12 monthly interest-only payments after they finish school.^{4 Sallie Mae Student Loans Review Sallie Mae Student Loans Review}

Cosigner Options

Sallie Mae says that last year, students were 4X more likely to be approved with a cosigner. ¹⁷It’s important to note that a cosigner doesn’t have to be a parent. Last year, 28% of Smart Option Student Loan applications were cosigned by an individual other than a parent.^{18 Sallie Mae Student Loans Review}

The good news, though, is that there is a cosigner release program. While other private lenders required 24 or 36 months of consecutive on-time payments before you can apply for a cosigner release, you can do so with Sallie Mae after you graduate, make 12 on-time, principal and interest payments, and meet certain credit requirements.^{19 Sallie Mae Student Loans Review}

Sallie Mae provides quarterly FICO scores to each of its borrowers as well as their cosigners.²⁰

What Borrower Protections Are Available?

Compared with other private lenders, Sallie Mae offers far more choices for repayment terms, between deferred interest, fixed payments, and interest-only, it will help you feel in control. Sallie Mae Student Loans Review

For graduate school borrowers, Sallie Mae offers deferments up to 48 months, depending on the program. That’s one of the longest offered by any lender.

Borrowers who are current and need time to resolve temporary financial issues may request a forbearance in one to two-month increments to temporarily postpone their payments. Borrowers who are delinquent at the time of the request may have different forbearance requirements. There may be up to a 12-month re-qualification period between instances of forbearance unless the borrower is within their first six months of repayment or enrolls in a loan modification plan. Sallie Mae also provides academic and military deferment as well as death and disability forgiveness.^{22 Sallie Mae Student Loans Review}

The only issue with Sallie Mae’s loans is the cost you could incur. Taking advantage of no-interest deferment options could lead your loans to balloon over time. Add to that the higher (but still competitive) interest rates, and you could head toward student loan disasters.

In general, it’s better to stick with federal loans if possible. These come with a wide range of repayment plans, and even some loan forgiveness options. If you must opt for student loans, Sallie Mae could be a good choice. Remember, always compare your options on a platform like Credible.

Who Qualifies To Apply?

Sallie Mae student loans are available to borrowers who are full-time, half-time or below half-time students. In fact, it’s one of the few private student loans available to borrowers who aren’t taking a full course load. Sallie Mae Student Loans Review

Sallie Mae also offers education loans for graduate students who may not need a cosigner to qualify for the loan.

Unfortunately, Sallie Mae does not disclose its minimum credit score requirements. It’s one of the few lenders that requires borrowers to check their pre-qualified rates in a way that impacts their credit scores. To receive a rate quote, you’ll have to fill out a full application and allow Sallie Mae to perform a hard credit inquiry.

Are There Any Fees?

Sallie Mae doesn’t charge application or origination fees on any of its student loan products. There aren’t any prepayment penalties either.²¹

However, you may be charged a late fee if your monthly payment isn’t received within 15 days of the due date. If your loan charges a late fee, it will be listed on its disclosure document. Sallie Mae Student Loans Review

How Does Sallie Mae Compare?

Sallie Mae is not the only student loan lender. While it’s one of the largest and one of the oldest, there may be Sallie Mae alternatives that are a better option for you.

When it comes to shopping for a loan, we always recommend that you get 3-5 quotes and see how your rates and terms compare. While Sallie Mae could be the best, it also might not be for you.

Some of the main alternatives to Sallie Mae include: College Ave, Earnest, and SoFi. Sallie Mae Student Loans Review

See our full comparison of College Ave vs. Sallie Mae here.

You can also see our full list of the best private student loan lenders here.

How To Contact Customer Service

You can reach out to Sallie Mae customer service through the following:

Phone number: 800-472-5543

Hours of operation:

Monday – Thursday: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. (ET)
Friday: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (ET)

Sallie Mae
P.O. Box 3319
Wilmington DE 19804-4319 Sallie Mae Student Loans Review

Address for sending payments:

Sallie Mae
P.O. Box 8459
Philadelphia PA 19101-8459

Email/online contact form: N/A

Is It Safe And Secure?

Yes, Sallie Mae’s website uses HTTPs encryption and it maintains a variety of additional security features. These include offering two-factor authentication, automated customer
verification and fraud detection, and submitting to extensive third-party internal audits. Sallie’s Mae’s bank accounts are also FDIC-insured up to $250,000.^{23 Sallie Mae Student Loans Review}

Why Should You Trust Us

I am America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™ and have been actively writing about and covering student loans since 2009. I and the team here at The College Investor have been actively tracking student loan providers since 2015 and have reviewed, tested, and followed almost every provider and lender in the space.

Furthermore, our compliance team reviews the rates and terms on these listing every weekday to ensure they are accurate. That way you can be sure you’re looking at an accurate and up-to-date rate when you’re comparison shopping. Sallie Mae Student Loans Review

Who Is This For And Is It Worth It?

With no application fee, no origination fee, and generous repayment terms, Sallie Mae student loans are a good choice for borrowers that need repayment flexibility. The flexibility comes at a cost, and you’ll likely find lower interest rates from other lenders (use Credible to shop around).

That said, Sallie Mae could be the right choice if you’re stuck taking out private loans. Compared with other

lenders, Sallie Mae is especially generous with its undergraduate student loans.

Common Questions

Here are some of the most common questions we get about Sallie Mae:

Is Sallie Mae the same as Navient?

No. At one time, Navient was Sallie Mae’s servicing arm. But in 2014, Sallie Mae and Navient split into two separate companies. Sallie Mae now focuses on private loans and Navient is one of the largest U.S. federal loan servicers. Sallie Mae Student Loans Review

Is Sallie Mae a federal company?

No, Sallie Mae is a private consumer bank and since 2014 it has had no involvement in servicing federal student loans.

Can Sallie Mae student loans be forgiven?

Sallie Mae student loans, like all other private loans, aren’t eligible for federal student loan forgiveness. However, if a student dies or becomes permanently and totally disabled, the current balance of the loan will be waived.^{22 Sallie Mae Student Loans Review}

Is it hard to get a Sallie Mae student loan?

Undergraduates are more likely to qualify for a Sallie Mae loan with a cosigner. Last year, students were 4X more likely to be approved with a cosigner.^{17 Sallie Mae Student Loans Review}

Sallie Mae Student Loans Review: Pros, Cons, & Alternatives