Tuition rates are continuing to rise and more students are finding themselves in a position of working two jobs just to pay for college. Student loan rates are rising and the standards to qualify for them have tightened, leaving many students wondering how they are going to pay for college. Sallie Mae has provided students with funding for colleges and they have been able to help millions of students obtain their degree without feeling the financial sting of other students.
How does Sallie Mae provide funding for college? They work with specific universities and colleges so you will need to work with one of the qualifying schools. You can apply for a loan through the university web site or receive instructions through Sallie Mae’s hotline. The nice part about working with Sallie Mae Federal Student Aid programs is that they usually offer lower interest rates and some of the loans even offer cash-back incentives for on-time payments.
Sallie Mae will not hurt your credit rating as long as you are a solid borrower. This means you need to make timely payments and you should try to pay back the money as soon as possible. They provide free online and telephone loan counseling so you can work out a financial plan to fit your needs. They also offer great advice and feedback about student loans and how you can use your money wisely.
Many students have found that Sallie Mae student loans have one of the fastest turnaround times out there. Within 48 hours of applying for the loan, a financial representative will contact you to let you know the loan application has been received and it is currently being processed. Usually within 5-10 business days, you will have your answer as to weather or not you qualify for a student loan. Unlike other student loan programs, you can get the answer quickly so you will know if you can go to college or not instead of enrolling and waiting for an answer while the college threatens to ban you if you don’t pay up your tuition soon.
Sallie Mae works directly through the financial aid office at your school so you don’t have to do anything by enroll and wait for the money to be sent to the school. Then it’s your obligation to start paying back the money. You have the opportunity to wait until you graduate to pay on the loan or you can start paying within 30 days. This is a nice feature as all the money will go toward the principle balance.
There are three categories available for Sallie Mae loans:
- Undergraduate students. This means you are enrolling in college to receive your Bachelor’s Degree.
- Graduate students. You already have a bachelor’s degree and you would like to go for a higher degree like your Masters or Doctorate degree.
- Parents. If you don’t qualify for the loan, your parents might. Having your parents obtain the loan will be much cheaper than if you were to seek alternate financing like through a commercial lender.
Sallie Mae was designed to help students. They do not want to make your financial burden harder. Instead they want to give you the money to go to school and find a job so you can become a productive member of society. Talk with the financial aid department at your school to learn more about Sallie Mae student loans. This will help you plan out a payment program that fits your needs throughout the next 5-10 years after you plan on graduating from the school. Sallie Mae student loans are some of the best loans out there so be sure to fill out an application if you don’t have the money to go to college.