Student

Loans

With the Sallie Mae^® undergraduate and graduate student loans, the student can select from three repayment options² – the student can choose to make payments while in school with monthly interest payments or with fixed payments, or they can choose to defer payments until after school. No matter which option is chosen, the student will have at least six months after leaving school (known as the grace period) before beginning to make principal and interest payments.

When applying for a student loan through Century Credit Union in partnership with Sallie Mae^®, the loan will be serviced by Sallie Mae^®.

When certification is received, and after the right to cancel period has expired, the student loan is ready to be disbursed. A disbursement is when funds are sent to the school. Loan funds may be divided into multiple disbursements (usually one per semester). If the student chooses a repayment option that requires in-school payments, the monthly payments will begin as soon as the funds are disbursed.

A certification request is sent to the school after the student’s loan is approved and approved loan terms are accepted. All schools have different processes for certification—some certify daily, weekly, biweekly, etc. Most schools only certify 30 days before the enrollment period begins, even though the student may have applied months in advance. Usually, no actions are required from the student or their cosigner during this time. Sallie Mae^® will keep the student posted so they will always know where they are in the process.

It takes about 10 minutes to apply and get a credit decision. If approved, the student can choose the loan options, accept the loan disclosure, and then the loan must be certified by the school. After school certification is received and the right to cancel period expires, the funds can be sent (disbursed) directly to the school.

Loan applications are subject to a minimum loan amount of $1,000. The maximum amount depends on the type of student loan.

Undergraduate and graduate students can borrow up to 100% of their school-certified expenses—however, the loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less any financial aid received, as certified by the school.¹ For post-graduate loans, the maximum amounts are $15,000 or $30,000 depending on the type of loan.

Students can borrow to cover the costs at a participating institution, even if they are not a full- or half-time student. The undergraduate and graduate loans are a good choice for many situations:

• U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents
• Students who meet current credit and other eligibility criteria
• Students attending school full-time, half-time, or less than half- time, or taking prerequisite classes
• Students taking a full class load, just a few classes, enrolled in a winter or summer term, or studying abroad
• Students taking eligible online courses
• Students who still need funds after maximizing grants, scholarships, and federal student loans
• Students seeking a professional certification or enrolled in a continuing education program
• Students who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents and who 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)

Yes, completing and submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) each year is the single most important thing students can do to get financial aid for college, but completing the FAFSA^® is not a requirement to get a private student loan.

A student loan with a variable interest rate can go up or down as market conditions change. This means your student loan payments may also change—you might have lower payment amounts if interest rates fall and higher payments if interest rates rise.

A student loan with a fixed interest rate will have predictable monthly payments with a rate that doesn’t change over the life of the loan.

Undergraduate and graduate students can apply just once a year for a Sallie Mae^® loan with a single credit check and, if approved by Sallie Mae and certified by the school, funds are sent (also known as disbursed) for each term directly to the school. Students can cancel future disbursements as needed with no penalty. No interest is charged until money is sent to the school, so the student can relax, knowing the funds are sent to the school when they are needed.

Yes. Undergraduate and graduate students can cover up to 100% of school-certified costs with a Sallie Mae^® loan.¹ Tuition, books, and other eligible educational expenses— and you only need to apply once for school expenses for the whole year.

Very often, a student loan cosigner is a parent, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be a relative, guardian or other creditworthy individual. Only one person can cosign for a private student loan. For instance, if two parents are willing to be cosigners, only one will be allowed to do it. The cosigner is fully responsible, along with the borrower, for repayment of the full amount of the loan, not just part of it. A cosigner should be someone the student knows and trusts, and who is willing to fill out the application.

Private student loans are credit-based, which means through our partnership with Sallie Mae^®, they will check the applicant’s credit when submitting an application. While not required, applying for a Sallie Mae^® loan with a cosigner may help the chances for approval. A cosigner is someone who along with the student, is fully responsible for paying back the loan and is often a parent but can be any creditworthy adult who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident.

Use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) form on the FAFSA^® website to apply for financial aid for college. Many states and colleges have set priority deadlines when the student needs to submit the FAFSA^® form to be considered for the aid programs they administer. There is also a federal deadline for each academic year.