A Tuition Answer^® Loan is a great way to bridge your education financing gap after federal student loans and traditional financial aid, grants, and scholarships have been considered.

Eligibility

• The borrower, student, and any cosigner must have Social Security numbers.
  
• The borrower and any cosigner must be U.S. citizens or eligible permanent residents.
  
• The borrower must have good credit.
  

Features

• Borrow from $1,500 up to the calculated cost of attendance or maximum $40,000 per year for any qualified college-related expense — tuition, room and board, books, computers, study abroad, and more.¹
  
• The check comes directly to the borrower, not the school.
  
• There are no income restrictions, or application deadlines.
  
• There is no prepayment penalty.
  
• Flexible repayment options including deferment until after graduation.²
  
• 24/7 online account management.
  
• Combined billing when you have multiple Sallie Mae-serviced loans.
  

Loan terms

Loan limit

• Minimum: $1,500
• Maximum: calculated cost of attendance or maximum $40,000, whichever is less¹
• Aggregate: $130,000

If you choose to borrow only through Tuition Answer to pay for your education expenses or if you will be using Tuition Answer in addition to other student loan programs, the total of all your loan proceeds may not exceed the calculated cost of attendance at your school.

Not sure how much to request? Use our in-school expense estimator to calculate your need.

Interest rate

• Manage your credit well to become eligible for a lower interest rate.
• The Tuition Answer Loan has interest rates that reward good credit. Interest rates are variable and reset monthly.

Fees

A one-time supplemental fee is added to the loan amount at disbursement. 

Repayment

Your repayment options are:

• Pay both principal and interest immediately
• Pay interest only while the student is in school at least half-time
• Defer all payments (principal and interest) while the student is enrolled in school at least half-time.²

Benefits

• Adding a cosigner: Many undergraduate students may not meet minimum credit requirements and are encouraged to apply with an eligible creditworthy cosigner who does. The cosigner is subject to the same eligibility requirements and will be required to authorize a credit check to be approved. Adding a creditworthy cosigner may reduce the total cost of borrowing.
• Interest rate reduction: You receive a 0.50 percentage point interest rate reduction after the first 24 consecutive payments are made by the due dates as initially scheduled.³

Legal

Tuition Answer Loans are funded by Sallie Mae Bank^®.

¹Maximum loan amount and loan availability varies by school. Tuition Answer Loan proceeds are solely to pay for a student's qualified higher education expenses, as described in Section 221 (d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. Section 221 (d)(2), at an eligible educational institution. The expenses considered "qualified higher education expenses" may vary from school to school and may affect a student's ability to qualify for a school's financial aid program. Students seeking federal financial assistance should seek that assistance first, and then use the Tuition Answer Loan, and any other private loan proceeds, for any remaining financial need gap and, if necessary, to finance their expected family contribution (EFC).

²Defering payments while in school will increase overall loan costs. Deferment ends either four-and-a-half years after the disbursement date or six months after the student graduates, whichever is earlier. Principal at repayment is the principal amount disbursed (loan amount plus supplemental fee) and interest that accrues during deferment. Unpaid interest that accrues while you are in school will be capitalized (added to your loan amount) quarterly and when the loan enters repayment.

³Terms and conditions apply. To qualify for the 0.50 percentage point interest rate reduction, the borrower must sign up on Manage Your Loans within 60 days of the first payment due date, to receive account information by email and make the first 24 payments by the due dates as initially scheduled. The 0.50 percentage point interest rate reduction continues during active repayment for as long as the borrower continues to pay as scheduled. Borrowers may take advantage of one of the following opportunities: (1) A borrower who has earned the benefit and makes a late payment can re-earn this interest rate reduction once by making 24 consecutive payments by the due dates as initially scheduled. (2) A borrower who fails to earn the interest rate reduction because of a late payment can re-qualify to earn the benefit once by making 24 consecutive payments and then earn the benefit by satisfying the original, remaining on-time payment requirements. Additional terms and conditions apply.

SALLIE MAE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE LOAN PROGRAMS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. APPLICANTS SHOULD CHECK THE SALLIE MAE WEBSITE CLOSE TO THEIR LOAN DISBURSEMENT DATE TO GET THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION REGARDING LOAN PROGRAMS, INCLUDING BORROWER BENEFITS.

Subject to the above, borrower benefits are effective for Tuition Answer Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2008 and serviced by Sallie Mae.

Sallie Mae, Sallie Mae Bank, and Tuition Answer are registered service marks, and MBA LOANS Private Loan is a service mark of Sallie Mae, Inc.