You could get a better rate with our student loans than a federal PLUS loan.^{footnote 1}

For private student loans in general, you may be approved to borrow up to 100% of your school-certified costs for the entire year, if needed. You should borrow only what you can afford to pay back later. Consider how much you may earn in your future career. Use a responsible borrowing approach. Use free money first and explore federal loans before considering private student loans. To help estimate your future income potential, you can visit the US Department of Labor at bls.gov.

You can fill out a student loan application right on the lender’s website. There’s no cost to apply. You’ll be asked to enter some basic personal and financial information, and choose the type of interest rate and repayment plan you want for your loan. If you’re applying with a cosigner, they’ll also need to provide their financial info. Remember that the lender will do a credit check to see if you’re eligible for a loan, so your credit score may be affected by applying.

You can use student loan funds to cover any of your school costs included in your school's cost of attendance (COA) for the year, which might include the following for students attending school at least half time:

• Tuition
• Fees
• Books
• Housing
• Meals
• Travel to and from school
• A laptop
• Equipment, supplies, and tools 

Get more expert advice on what you can and cannot use your student loan money for.

You may boost your chances of being approved by adding a cosigner (such as a parent, relative, or other responsible adult). Last year, 91% of Sallie Mae undergraduate loans were cosigned.^{footnote 6}

Fixed interest rate
The rate never changes, so you’ll have a predictable monthly payment amount.

Variable interest rate
The rate can go up or down as market conditions change. This means your student loan payments may also change—you might have lower payment amounts if interest rates fall and higher payments if interest rates rise.

Sallie Mae offers different types of student loans, and the eligibility requirements differ for each loan:

• Private student loans
• Undergraduate student loans
• Career training student loans
• Graduate student loans
• Medical school loan
• Medical residency and relocation loan
• Dental school loan
• Dental residency and relocation loan
• Law school loan
• Bar study loan
• MBA loan
• Nursing school loan
• Flight school loan

Private student loans are credit-based which means the lender will check your credit rating and other info. If you’re just entering college, you may not have much credit history, so you may need a creditworthy cosigner. A cosigner shares responsibility with you for paying back the loan.

A lender wants to make sure you’ll be able to pay back your loan after you borrow the money. That’s why they consider whether you and/or your cosigner are “creditworthy.” The lender will evaluate your credit history to see how you’ve handled your finances in the past.

That’s why the first step a lender will take after you submit your application is to see if your (and your cosigner’s) credit history meets their guidelines.

• Every lender has specific criteria that they look for—this can include a particular credit score range, outstanding debts, income, and more.
• When you (and your cosigner, if you have one) pass the credit review, you’ll be notified that you’re approved. It can take as few as 10 minutes to find out whether you’ve met their credit requirements. If the lender needs more information, the approval can take a few business days.

After you apply and your loan is approved, a certification request is sent to your school. All schools have different processes for certification—some certify daily, weekly, biweekly, etc. Most schools only certify 30 days before the enrollment period begins, even though you may have applied months in advance.

When certification is received, and after the right to cancel period has expired, your student loan is ready to be disbursed (sent to your school).

• A disbursement is funds that are sent to your school. Loan funds may be divided into multiple disbursements (usually one per semester).
• If you chose a repayment option that requires in-school payments, your monthly payments will begin as soon as your funds are disbursed.