Scholarships, Grants, and Federal Loans Not Enough? Consider a Responsible Private Student Loan from Sallie Mae to Cover Remaining Costs of College

The Sallie Mae^® Smart
Option Student Loan^® Offers
Competitive Pricing, No Upfront Fees, Choice of Repayment Options, and
Free Quarterly Access to FICO^® Scores

NEWARK, Del.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Tassels are turned, college decisions made, and financial aid packages
have landed in the inboxes of incoming freshmen and returning college
students. For some, scholarships, grants, income and savings, and
federal student loans may cover the bill, but many families are left
with a gap to cover the remaining cost of college. With competitive
pricing, no upfront fees, a choice of repayment options, and free
quarterly access to FICO Scores, the Sallie
Mae Smart Option Student Loan can be an affordable and responsible
way to help families do just that.

Available to students attending degree-granting institutions, Sallie
Mae’s Smart Option Student Loan offers competitive fixed and variable
interest rates and no origination fees or prepayment penalties. Variable
rates for undergraduates start from 2.50
to 9.59 percent APR, and fixed rates for undergraduates range from 5.74
to 11.85 percent APR. Graduate students may qualify for variable
rates starting from 2.50
to 7.51 percent APR or fixed rates of 5.74
to 8.56 percent APR.

In addition to no-cost access to quarterly FICO^® Scores, the
Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loan offers:

• Choice and Flexibility: Customers may select from three
  repayment options: monthly interest-only payments while in school;
  a fixed monthly payment while in school; or payments deferred until
  after school. A typical freshman borrower who makes interest-only
  payments on a Smart Option Student Loan while in school saves an
  average of 25 percent on total loan costs compared to students who
  defer payments until after school. Also, all Sallie Mae Smart Option
  Student Loans are certified by the school’s financial aid office to
  help ensure customers borrow no more than the cost of attendance less
  other financial aid received.
• Reduced Interest Rates for Automatic Debit: Customers may
  reduce their interest rate by 0.25 percentage points by enrolling in the
  automatic debit option. Customers who sign up for Upromise^® —
  the free-to-join saving for college and rewards program — have access
  to Upromise Loan Link^®, which lets them
  use Upromise earnings to pay down eligible Sallie Mae student loans.
• Enhanced Customer Service: Over the past two years, Sallie Mae
  has invested millions of dollars to enhance multiple aspects of the
  customer experience, from application through repayment. Unlike other
  lenders who may rely on third parties, Sallie Mae is the servicer for
  its private student loans and those customer service employees are
  based in the United States.
• Graduated Repayment: The Smart Option Student Loan offers
  a Graduated
  Repayment feature, a transitional repayment plan that offers
  customers greater budget flexibility upon graduation. 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.
• Cosigner Release: After they graduate, and once they have made
  12 on-time principal and interest payments and meet certain other
  credit requirements, borrowers may apply to have their cosigner
  released from the loan.

“Whether you are an incoming freshman, returning undergraduate, or a
graduate student, Sallie Mae offers several options to bridge the
college financing gap,” said Charlie Rocha, executive vice president,
Sallie Mae. “Our Smart Option Student Loan — along with our recently
announced Parent
Loan — not only help cover costs not met by income and savings or
federal financial aid, but they also encourage responsible borrowing. In
fact, more than half of our Smart Option Student loan customers choose
an in-school payment option to help reduce overall costs.”

Sallie Mae recommends students and families follow its 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 education loan.

For more information on Sallie Mae’s Smart Option Student Loan, or to
apply, visit SallieMae.com/smartoption.

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.

Contacts

Sallie Mae
Abigail Brooks, 302-451-0230
abigail.brooks@salliemae.com