Research Shows Graduate School is Becoming the New Norm; Sallie Mae’s
Graduate Financing Can Help Students Advance Their Careers
NEWARK, Del.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sallie Mae® (Nasdaq: SLM) – Graduation season is here, and
thousands of college grads across the country are turning their tassels
and looking to what’s next. For an increasing number of students, this
means planning for their next degree: 64% believe a graduate degree is
the new minimum standard level of education for any professional
occupation, according to How
America Pays for Graduate School, Sallie Mae and Ipsos’ national
research study.
In response to the growing need to finance this next step, Sallie Mae
offers six distinct graduate
student loan products that were co-created with graduate students,
uniquely designed to responsibly assist in paying for their advanced
education.
“We’ve worked with students throughout their undergraduate and graduate
school journey, and want to ensure that we equip them to build
prosperous futures,” said Kelly Christiano, senior vice president,
Sallie Mae. “After talking with them in depth about their goals and
challenges, it became clear that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t
always meet their specific financing needs and that they require loans
that can address the nuances of their specific fields of study.”
Sallie Mae offers six discipline-specific graduate
school loans, including the Sallie Mae Law School Loan, Sallie Mae
MBA Loan, Sallie Mae Health Professions Graduate Loan, Sallie Mae
Graduate School Loan, Sallie Mae Medical School Loan, and the Sallie Mae
Dental School Loan. Each graduate loan features a choice of
competitively priced fixed or variable interest rates, no origination
fees or prepayment penalties, and loan amounts that can cover up to 100
percent of the school-certified expenses, including tuition, food and
housing, and books and supplies. Additionally, Sallie Mae offers
full-year borrowing, meaning students can apply once and receive the
funds they need for an entire year, providing a more convenient,
affordable, and savvy way of managing financing.
Sallie Mae’s graduate student loans also offer:
Cosigner release. Customers (primary borrowers) may apply to have
their cosigner released from the loans after they graduate, meet certain
credit requirements, and make 12 on-time principal and interest payments
— the shortest qualification period among private student lenders.
Rate reduction for auto-debit. Customers can reduce their
interest rate by 0.25 percentage points by enrolling in the automatic
debit option.
Free access to credit scores. Customers, including cosigners,
have free access to their FICO® Credit Score, along with
information about factors that affect credit scores and why monitoring
credit scores is important.
In addition to financing options that meet their specific needs,
graduate students expressed a desire for more information on how to pay
for grad school, including resources to successfully manage repayment
and find ‘free money’, like scholarships. In response, Sallie Mae
created the free Graduate
School Scholarship Search tool, a home to more than 950,000
graduate-specific scholarships, worth up to $1 billion. Available
scholarships and fellowships run the gamut of graduate school
disciplines, including business, law, medical, healthcare and nursing,
engineering, and education, and range from a few thousand to tens of
thousands of dollars.
For more information on graduate student loans or to apply, visit SallieMae.com.
Sallie Mae (Nasdaq: SLM) believes education and life-long
learning, in all forms, help people achieve great things. As the leader
in private student lending, we provide financing and know-how to help
make college happen and offer products and resources to help customers
make new goals and experiences, beyond college, possible. 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
Ashley Boucher
302.451.0452
[email protected]
