Sallie Mae Offers Competitive Private Student Loans for Graduate Students

More than half of today’s students expect to pursue a graduate degree and of those who do, many may need to borrow to make grad school happen. Sallie Mae, the nation’s saving, planning, and paying for college company, today announced new, competitively-priced, private student loans for students pursuing graduate degrees in business, dental and medical, and health professions.

Available to students attending degree-granting institutions, Sallie Mae’s new graduate student loans offer fixed and variable interest rates and no origination fees or prepayment penalties. Customers may borrow up to 100 percent of the school-certified cost of attendance.

Specifically, Sallie Mae’s new MBA graduate student loan offers fixed rates ranging from 5.74 to 8.56 percent APR and variable rates ranging from 3.12 to 8.09 percent APR. For those students pursuing graduate degrees in more than 25 health professions, Sallie Mae’s new Health Professions graduate student loan offers fixed rates ranging from 5.74 to 8.56 percent APR and variable rates ranging from 3.12 to 8.09 percent APR.

Sallie Mae’s Dental and Medical School graduate student loan is available for students pursuing dental and medical school studies in 14 different areas, including adult and pediatric dentistry, radiology, sports medicine, and veterinary medicine. Fixed rates range from 5.75 to 8.36 percent APR and variable rates range from 3.12 to 7.90 percent APR. In addition, Sallie Mae’s Dental and Medical School loan now offers a 20-year repayment term.

“Graduate school has become more of an expectation for students and families and it’s clear they value choice, flexibility, and tailored financing options,” said Charlie Rocha, executive vice president, Sallie Mae. “Our new graduate student loans, including a new 20-year repayment term for medical and dental school customers, are a direct response to their requests for additional flexibility.”

Sallie Mae graduate student loan customers may choose to make monthly interest-only or fixed payments while in school; or defer payments until after school. More than half of Sallie Mae’s customers choose to make in-school payments and that responsible choice means lower interest rates. Sallie Mae graduate loan customers are eligible to receive an interest rate 0.50 percentage points lower when they opt for an in-school interest-only payment over the deferred payment option, and an interest rate 0.25 percentage points lower if they choose an in-school fixed payment over the deferred payment option. Customers can also reduce their interest rate by 0.25 percentage points by enrolling in the automatic debit option.

In addition, Sallie Mae offers a Graduated Repayment Period, a transitional repayment plan that provides greater budget flexibility. Students with an eligible loan who graduate and maintain their Sallie Mae loans in good standing may request to make 12 interest-only payments before transitioning into full principal and interest payments.

Sallie Mae graduate student loans also offer:

• Cosigner Release: After they graduate, and once they have made 12 on-time principal and interest payments and meet certain other credit requirements, customers (primary borrowers) may apply to have their cosigner released from the loan.
• Study Starter Benefit: This new and exclusive benefit gives Sallie Mae customers free access to 24/7 online tutoring and study help from the experts at Chegg. Sallie Mae is the first and only lender to offer this up-front, in-school benefit to its customers.
• Free Access to Credit Scores: Customers have access to their FICO® Credit Score on a quarterly basis, along with information about factors that affect credit scores and why monitoring credit scores is important. In addition, Sallie Mae partnered with FICO on a free "Guide to Understanding Credit."

Sallie Mae recommends a 1-2-3 approach to paying for college: first, maximize money that does not need to be repaid, such as scholarships and grants; second, explore federal student loans; and, third, consider a responsible private student loan.

For more information on Sallie Mae’s graduate student loans, or to apply, visit SallieMae.com.

Sallie Mae (Nasdaq: SLM) is the nation’s saving, planning, and paying for college company. Whether college is a long way off or just around the corner, Sallie Mae offers products that promote responsible personal finance, including private education loans, Upromise rewards, scholarship search, college financial planning tools, and online retail banking. Learn more at SallieMae.com. Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.

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