Parents, cosigning an undergraduate student loan can help your student succeed

Looking for an alternative to the parent PLUS loan? Cosigning our private undergraduate student loan may help your student get approved and is a great way to help pay for school.

Apply now

Fixed rates

3.45%

to 16.49% APR^{footnote 1}

Fixed means your interest rate never changes.

If you want a predictable monthly payment, this is the way to go.

Variable rates

4.37%

to 15.99% APR^{footnote 1}

Variable interest rates go up or down as the market changes.

This means your monthly payments may also change—they might be higher if interest rates rise and lower if they fall.

Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount. Only the most creditworthy applicants who choose the interest repayment option may receive the lowest rate.

Benefits of parents cosigning

No origination fees

There’s no fee to process a loan or if you pay it off early.^{footnote 2}

Help them get approved

Students with cosigners were 5x more likely to be approved last year.^{footnote 3}

Parents can help pay

Parents can make payments anytime on the loan, not just the student.

Cosigner release

Students can apply to release a cosigner after meeting requirements.^{footnote 4}

100%

Up to 100% coverage

of school-certified costs like tuition, fees, housing, meals, travel, and more.^{footnote 5}

91%

Of undergrad loans were cosigned

last year.^{footnote 6} And a cosigner doesn’t have to be a parent—can be a guardian, relative, or friend.

300,000+

Choose Sallie Mae^® each year

3,000+

Eligible schools

The smart alternative to the parent PLUS loan^{footnote 7}

	Sallie Mae^® Undergraduate Student Loan	Federal Direct PLUS Loan for parents^{footnote 8}
No origination fees
Apply for cosigner release after 12 months of on-time principal and interest payments and credit requirements have been met^{footnote 4}
Less than half-time enrollment eligibility
Fixed and variable interest rate options
Cover up to 100% of the cost of attendance minus financial aid^{footnote 5}
Rate discount when you enroll in auto debit^{footnote 9}
Credit card check required

We keep it simple

Apply in minutes

1. Tell us some basics

2. Invite your student

3. Sign and accept

Apply now

All private loans, all the time

We’re a private student lender—not federal. We’ve got the experience and resources to help students from start to finish.

FAQs

Have other questions? We’re here to help.
1-877-279-7172

Does my student need a cosigner?

Private student loans are credit-based, which means we check students' credit when they apply. Last year, students were 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 a 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.

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.

How long does it take to get an 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 you both e-sign your loan documents and accept the loan terms, the loan is certified by your 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 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 our undergraduate student loan, you can select from three repayment options. While in school, you can choose to make monthly interest payments or fixed $25 payments,^{footnote 10}—or you can choose to defer payments until after school.^{footnote 1} The repayment option you choose applies during school and for six months after you leave school (your grace period). After that, you 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 (if you have them), 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 to a student who attends school for 4 years and has no prior Sallie Mae-serviced loans. 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. 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 3. Based on a comparison of the percentage of students who were approved with a cosigner to the percentage of students who were approved without a cosigner from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.

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

footnote 7. Explore federal loans and compare to make sure you understand the terms and features. Private student loans that have variable rates can go up over the life of the loan. Federal student loans are required by law to provide a range of flexible repayment options, including, but not limited to, income-based repayment and income-contingent repayment plans, and loan forgiveness and deferment benefits, which other student loans are not required to provide. Federal loans generally have origination fees, but are available to students regardless of income.

footnote 8. Federal loan rate and fee information is provided by Federal Student Aid, an Office of the U.S. Department of Education.

footnote 9. The borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae to receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction benefit. This benefit 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 10. Examples of typical costs for a $10,000 Smart Option Student Loan with the most common fixed rate, fixed repayment option, 6-month separation period, and two disbursements: For a borrower with no prior loans and a 4-year in-school period, it works out to a 10.28% fixed APR, 51 payments of $25.00, 119 payments of $182.67 and one payment of $121.71, for a Total Loan Cost of $23,134.44. For a borrower with $20,000 in prior loans and a 2-year in-school period, it works out to a 10.78% fixed APR, 27 payments of $25.00, 179 payments of $132.53 and one payment of $40.35 for a total loan cost of $24,438.22. 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 Sallie Mae loans are made by Sallie Mae Bank.

footnote Information advertised valid as of 6/03/2025.

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.