Cosigning Options for College Loans

Q: What are my responsibilities as cosigner?

Being a cosigner means you’re jointly and legally responsible for repaying the loan on time and in full. So if your student doesn’t make payments for any reason, you’ll be expected to make them. Missed or late payments can have a negative impact on your credit report as well as your student’s.

Q: Why borrow for the entire school year?

Your student can apply just once a year with a single credit check and funds are sent for each term directly to their school. They can cancel future disbursements as needed with no penalty. No interest is charged until money is sent to the school, so your student can relax, knowing they’ve got the funds when they need them.

Q: When do students start paying back their student loan?

With the Sallie Mae® Undergraduate Student Loan, your student can select from three repayment options. While in school, they can choose to make monthly interest payments or fixed $25 payments,—or they can choose to defer payments until after school. The repayment option they choose applies during school and for six months after they leave school (their grace period). After that, they begin to make principal and interest payments.

If you’re a parent (or trusted supporter) exploring student loan options, cosigning is a great way to help your student move forward.

Undergraduate Student Loans:
Fixed rates: 2.89% to 17.49% APR^{footnote 1}
Variable rates: 3.75% to 16.37% APR^{footnote 1}

Lowest fixed and variable rates include the autopay interest rate reduction.

Apply now

Benefits you won’t want to miss

Pay for more than tuition

Cover up to 100% of school-certified expenses, including books, meals, housing, and even a laptop.^{footnote 2}

How cosigning can help

Undergraduate students were 6.5x more likely to be approved when applying with a cosigner last year.^{footnote 3}

Cosigner release option

Your student can apply to release their cosigner after meeting requirements.^{footnote 4}

Repay your way

Make payments while your student is in school or defer until after graduation. There’s no upfront fee or penalty for prepayment.^{footnote 5}

You’re there for your student

Most students don’t have the credit history to take out a private loan on their own, which is why many families look into parent student loans or parent-cosigned options. In fact, 91% of our new Sallie Mae^® Undergraduate Student Loans were cosigned last year.^{footnote 6}
A cosigner can be a parent, or any responsible adult who agrees to share responsibility for the loan. Last year, 27% of Sallie Mae^® Undergraduate Student Loan applications were cosigned by an individual other than a parent.^{footnote 7}
Having a cosigner may also help your student get a lower interest rate.

Breaking down your repayment options

Pay in school

Pay some in school

Pay after school

Interest repayment option

How does it work?
Your student pays the monthly interest while they’re in school and during the 6-month grace period to lower the loan cost.^{footnote 1}

This is a great option if your student wants to save the most.
As a freshman, your student may save 17%^{footnote 8} on the total loan cost if they choose this option instead of paying everything after school.

Keep in mind:
The loan payments will likely be larger while your student is in school and during the grace period than with our fixed or deferred options.

Fixed repayment option

How does it work?
Your student pays $25 a month^{footnote 9} while they’re in school and during the 6-month grace period to lower the loan cost.^{footnote 1}

This is a great option if your student wants to make a dent in payments from the start.
As a freshman, your student may save as much as 7%^{footnote 8} on their total loan cost if they choose this option instead of paying everything after school.

Keep in mind:
Any interest you don’t pay during school will be added to your principal amount (total borrowed) after grace.

Deferred repayment option

How does it work?
You have no scheduled payments while you’re in school and in grace (the 6 months after leaving school).^{footnote 1}

This is a great option if you want to focus on class and not on making loan payments.

Keep in mind:
The total cost of your loan may be higher because the interest you don’t pay on your loan while you’re in school and grace will be added to the original amount you borrowed (principal amount).

Apply to
become a
cosigner in
minutes

Follow these steps:

1. Tell us some basics

2. Choose your loan options

3. Sign and accept

Apply for loan

FAQs on cosigning undergraduate student loans

Does my student need a cosigner?

Private student loans are credit-based, which means we check students’ credit when they apply—which is why some families compare parent student loans, cosigning, or federal student parent loan options. Last year, students were 6.5x more likely to be approved with a cosigner.^{footnote 3} A cosigner is an adult with good credit, usually a parent, who shares responsibility with you for paying back the undergraduate student loan.

What are my responsibilities as cosigner?

Why borrow for the entire school year?

How long does it take to get a Sallie Mae^® Undergraduate Student Loan?

It takes about 10 minutes to apply and get a credit decision. After the loan application gets approved, your student chooses their undergraduate loan rate type and repayment options. After loan terms are accepted and you both sign your loan documents and the loan is certified by the school, we send (disburse) the funds directly to the school. The process can take as few as 10 business days from application to disbursement.

Can my student qualify if attending school online, or less than half-time?

Whether they’re studying online or on campus, your student can borrow to cover the costs at a degree-granting institution, even if they’re not a full- or half-time student. The loan's flexibility makes it a good choice for many situations:

• Attending school full-time, half-time, or less than half-time

• Online or on-campus classes

• Winter or summer classes

• Study abroad

• Professional certification courses

• A U.S. citizen or permanent resident enrolled in a school in a foreign country

• Students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, including DACA students, residing in and attending school in the U.S. (with a cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident)

When do students start paying back their student loan?

With the Sallie Mae^® Undergraduate Student Loan, your student can select from three repayment options. While in school, they can choose to make monthly interest payments or fixed $25 payments,⁹—or they can choose to defer payments until after school. The repayment option they choose applies during school and for six months after they leave school (their grace period). After that, they begin to make principal and interest payments.

How do you decide if a student qualifies for a student loan?

When a student applies, we look at their history of borrowing money and paying it back on time. Lenders want to know how responsible they are with credit before approving their student loan application.

Many college-bound high school students haven’t had time to build up their own credit. That’s why they apply with a cosigner, a creditworthy adult who shares the responsibility of the student loan.

What information do my student and I need when applying for a loan?

You and your student will want to have your social security numbers, their school information, amount needed (remember, they can use it to pay for school-certified expenses for the entire year) as well as your financial and employment information. You or your student may start the application, however, should your student not be with you, we can send along an email with a link to their section of the application so they can fill it in later.

footnote Borrow responsibly
We encourage students and families to start with savings, grants, scholarships, and federal student loans to pay for college. Evaluate all anticipated monthly loan payments, and how much the student expects to earn in the future, before considering a private student loan.

footnote Loans for Undergraduate & Career Training Students are not intended for graduate students and are subject to credit approval, identity verification, signed loan documents, and school certification. Student must attend a participating school. Student or cosigner must meet the age of majority in their state of residence. Students who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents must reside in the U.S., attend school in the U.S., and apply with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident). Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000.

footnote 1. Advertised APRs for undergraduate students assume a $10,000 loan with a 4-year in-school period, a 6-month grace, and the longest loan term offered. Interest rates for variable rate loans may increase or decrease over the life of the loan based on changes to the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent. Advertised variable rates are the starting range of rates and may vary outside of that range over the life of the loan. Interest is charged starting when funds are sent to the school. With the Fixed and Deferred Repayment Options, the interest rate is higher than with the Interest Repayment Option and Unpaid Interest is added to the loan’s Current Principal at the end of the grace/separation period. To receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate discount, the borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae. The discount applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. It may be suspended during forbearance or deferment.

footnote 2. For applications submitted directly to Sallie Mae, loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less financial aid received, as certified by the school. Applications submitted to Sallie Mae through a partner website will be subject to a lower maximum loan request amount. Miscellaneous personal expenses (such as a laptop) may be included in the cost of attendance for students enrolled at least half-time.

footnote 3. Based on a comparison of the percentage of undergraduate students approved for a Sallie Mae Undergraduate Loan with a cosigner to the percentage of undergraduate students approved without a cosigner from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025.

footnote 4. Only the borrower may apply for cosigner release. To do so, they must first meet the age of majority in their state and provide proof of graduation (or completion of certification program), income, and U.S. citizenship or permanent residency (if their status has changed since they applied). In the last 12 months, the borrower can’t have been past due on any loans serviced by Sallie Mae for 30 or more days or enrolled in any hardship forbearances or modified repayment programs. In addition, the borrower must have paid ahead or made 12 on-time principal and interest payments on each loan requested for release. The loan can’t be past due when the cosigner release application is processed. The borrower must also demonstrate the ability to assume full responsibility of the loan(s) individually and pass a credit review when the cosigner release application is processed that demonstrates a satisfactory credit history including but not limited to no: bankruptcy, foreclosure, student loan(s) in default or 90-day delinquencies in the last 24 months. Requirements are subject to change.

footnote 5. Although we do not charge you a penalty or fee if you prepay your loan, any prepayment will be applied as provided in your promissory note — first to Unpaid Fees and costs, then to Unpaid Interest, and then to Current Principal.

footnote 6. Based on the percentage of approved undergraduate loans that were cosigned from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.

footnote 7. Based on a rolling 12-month period from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024.

footnote 8. Savings comparison assumes a freshman student receives a $10,000 Smart Option Student Loan with the most common variable rate as of January 2025 and the longest loan term offered.

footnote 9. Examples of typical transactions for a $10,000 Smart Option Student Loan with the most common fixed rate, Fixed Repayment Option, two disbursements, a 4-year in-school period, and a 6-month grace: For a borrower with the shortest loan term, it works out to 16.16% fixed APR, 51 payments of $25.00, 119 payments of $296.32 and one payment of $41.82, for a total loan cost of $36,578.90. For a borrower with the longest loan term, it works out to 16.38% fixed APR, 51 payments of $25.00, 177 payments of $265.54 and one payment of $173.00, for a total loan cost of $48,448.58. Loans that are subject to a $50 minimum principal and interest payment amount may receive a loan term that is less than 10 years. A variable APR may increase over the life of the loan. A fixed APR will not.

footnote Information advertised valid as of 03/12/2026.

footnote SALLIE MAE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. CHECK SALLIEMAE.COM FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE PRODUCT INFORMATION.