The right loan for nursing school students

Prepare for your career with confidence

With a Smart Option Student Loan® you can get the money you need for nursing school and pursue your passion.

Fixed rates
3.49%
to 15.49% APRfootnote 1
Variable rates
4.54%
to 14.71% APRfootnote 1

Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount. Only the most creditworthy applicants who choose the interest repayment option may receive the lowest rate.
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Benefits
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Planning a career as a nurse?
Get covered.

With a Smart Option Student Loan®, you can get the money you need to pay for nursing school. Cover everything from tuition to housing to travel, and even your training materials, equipment, and test fees if they are included in your school's cost of attendance.footnote 2 There’s no origination fee or prepayment penalty,footnote 3 and you can repay with the option that works best for you.

Looking for a private student loan to help you pay for an advanced degree in nursing? Check out our graduate school loan for health professions.

How a cosigner can help
you get the money you need for school

Since most students have little or no credit history, they were nearly 3.5X more likely to be approved with a cosigner last year!footnote 4 A cosigner is usually a parent, relative, or other responsible adult, and having one may help you get a better interest rate.

Learn more about cosigners

Find the type of interest rate that’s
best for you

Your interest rate is the amount you’re charged for borrowing money. It’s based on factors like your borrowing/repayment history and your amount of debt.

With a Smart Option Student Loan, you can choose an interest rate type that’s variable or fixed.

Line graph of a fixed interest rate over time shows how the interest rate does not change month-to-month
Fixed Rates
3.49% - 15.49% APRfootnote 1

Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount.

How it works
Your interest rate does not change over time.

This might be right for you if
You want a predictable monthly payment to make budgeting easier.

Keep in mind
Depending on the rate environment, you may pay less for your loan because a fixed rate may be less than a starting variable interest rate.

Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount.

How it works
Your interest rate does not change over time.

This might be right for you if
You want a predictable monthly payment to make budgeting easier.

Keep in mind
Depending on the rate environment, you may pay less for your loan because a fixed rate may be less than a starting variable interest rate.

Show MoreLess
Line graph of a variable interest rate over time shows how the interest rate may go up or down as the loan’s index changes month-to-month
Variable Rates
4.54% - 14.71% APRfootnote 1

Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount.

How it works
Your interest rate may go up or down as the loan’s index changes.

For more information about the index of your loan, refer to your promissory note. Changes in the financial markets may cause the index to rise or fall.

This might be right for you if
You're ok with uncertainty with predicting your monthly payments.

Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount.

How it works
Your interest rate may go up or down as the loan’s index changes.

For more information about the index of your loan, refer to your promissory note. Changes in the financial markets may cause the index to rise or fall.

This might be right for you if
You're ok with uncertainty with predicting your monthly payments.

Show MoreLess

What are your repayment options?

You can start paying back your loan while you’re in school to save money or wait until you’re finished.footnote 1 You can also choose to pay off your loan early to reduce the total loan cost—there are no penalties for early repayment.footnote 3

Pay more during school, save more

How the interest repayment option works:

You pay interest each month while in school and during your 6-month grace period to lower your loan cost.footnote 1

Your grace period is the amount of time after you’re no longer enrolled in school and before principal and interest payments begin.


This may be right for you if
You want to reduce your interest rate as much as possible and can afford to pay more each month.

Keep in mind
Your loan payments will likely be larger while you’re in school and in your grace period than with our fixed or deferred options.

Pay some during school, save some

How the fixed repayment option works:

You pay $25 a monthfootnote 5 while in school and during your 6-month grace period to lower your loan cost.footnote 1

Your grace period is the amount of time after you’re no longer enrolled in school and before principal and interest payments begin.


This may be right for you if
You want to reduce your total loan cost and can afford to pay $25footnote 5 every month.

Keep in mind 
Your interest rate will be less than with our deferred option, but the unpaid interest will be added to your principal amount at the end of your grace period.

Pay everything after you finish school

How the deferred repayment option works:

You don’t make your first payment until both your time at school and 6-month grace period have ended.footnote 1

Your grace period is the amount of time after you’re no longer enrolled in school and before principal and interest payments begin.


This may be right for you if
You don't want to make payments while you're in school.

Keep in mind 
You’re likely to pay more for the total cost of the loan compared to the other repayment options and the unpaid interest will be added to your principal amount at the end of your grace period.

How to apply

It’s easy, just follow these steps:

  • Tell us about yourself

    We’ll need some basic information from you (and your cosigner if you’re applying with one) like your name, address, and date of birth, along with some details about your school.

  • Choose your loan option(s)

    After you’re approved, pick the repayment option and interest rate type that work best for your budget.

  • Sign & accept

    Be sure to review all loan documents so you understand your responsibilities. Once you’ve decided to borrow from us, just e-sign, accept loan terms, and provide any other requested information. We'll work with your school to take care of the rest. That's it!

    Apply For Loan
Young female nurse smiling while walking in hospital

FAQs on loans for nursing school students

Private student loans are credit-based, which means we will check your credit when you submit your application. Last year, students were nearly 3.5x more likely to be approved with a cosigner.footnote 4 A cosigner is an adult with good credit, usually a parent, who shares responsibility with you for paying back the loan.

You can apply just once a year with a single credit check and funds are sent for each term directly to your school. You can cancel future disbursements as needed with no penalty. Interest isn't charged on funds until they are sent to your school, so you can relax, knowing you've got the funds when you need them.

It takes about 10 minutes to apply and get a credit decision. After you’re approved, you choose your loan rate type and repayment options, accept your loan disclosure, e-sign and provide any other requested information, and the loan is certified by your school. We send (disburse) the funds directly to the school. The process can take as few as 10 business days from application to disbursement.

Whether you study online or on campus, you can borrow to cover the costs at a participating institution, even if you're not a full- or half-time student. The loan's flexibility makes it a good choice for many situations:

  • Attending school full-time, half-time, or less than half-time
  • Online or on-campus classes
  • Winter or summer classes
  • Study abroad
  • Professional certification courses
  • A U.S. citizen or permanent resident enrolled in a school in a foreign country
  • Students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, including DACA students, residing in and attending school in the U.S. (with a cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident)

With the Smart Option Student Loan, you can select from three repayment options. While in school, you can choose to make monthly interest payments or fixed $25 payments,footnote 5—or you can choose to defer payments until after school.footnote 1 The repayment option you choose applies during school and for six months after you leave school (your grace period). After that, you begin to make principal and interest payments.

When you apply, we look at your history of borrowing money and paying it back on time. Lenders want to know how responsible you are with credit before approving your student loan application.

Many college-bound high school students haven’t had time to build up their own credit. That’s why they apply with a cosigner, a creditworthy adult who shares the responsibility of the student loan.

You and your cosigner will want to have your school information, amount needed (remember, you can use it to pay for school-certified expenses for the entire year) as well as your cosigner’s financial and employment information. You or your cosigner may start the application, however, should your cosigner not be with you, we can send along an email with a link to their section of the application so they can fill it in later.

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1-877-279-7172

Not sure if this is the right student loan for you?

Learn about the different student loans we offer.

All private student loans

footnote Borrow responsibly
We encourage students and families to start with savings, grants, scholarships, and federal student loans to pay for college. Evaluate all anticipated monthly loan payments, and how much the student expects to earn in the future, before considering a private student loan.

footnote Loans for Undergraduate & Career Training Students are not intended for graduate students and are subject to credit approval, identity verification, signed loan documents, and school certification. Student must attend a participating school. Student or cosigner must meet the age of majority in their state of residence. Students who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents must 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). Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000.

footnote 1. Advertised APRs for undergraduate students assume a $10,000 loan to a student who attends school for 4 years and has no prior Sallie Mae-serviced loans. Interest rates for variable rate loans may increase or decrease over the life of the loan based on changes to the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent.  Advertised variable rates are the starting range of rates and may vary outside of that range over the life of the loan. Interest is charged starting when funds are sent to the school. With the Fixed and Deferred Repayment Options, the interest rate is higher than with the Interest Repayment Option and Unpaid Interest is added to the loan’s Current Principal at the end of the grace/separation period. To receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate discount, the borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae. The discount applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. It may be suspended during forbearance or deferment.

footnote 2. For applications submitted directly to Sallie Mae, loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less financial aid received, as certified by the school. Applications submitted to Sallie Mae through a partner website will be subject to a lower maximum loan request amount. Miscellaneous personal expenses (such as a laptop) may be included in the cost of attendance for students enrolled at least half-time. 

footnote 3. Although we do not charge you a penalty or fee if you prepay your loan, any prepayment will be applied as provided in your promissory note: first to Unpaid Fees and costs, then to Unpaid Interest, and then to Current Principal. 

footnote 4. Based on a comparison of the percentage of students who were approved for any Sallie Mae loan with a cosigner to the percentage of students who were approved without a cosigner from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023.

footnote 5.  Examples of typical costs for a $10,000 Smart Option Student Loan with the most common fixed rate, fixed repayment option, 6-month separation period, and two disbursements: For a borrower with no prior loans and a 4-year in-school period, it works out to a 10.28% fixed APR, 51 payments of $25.00, 119 payments of $182.67 and one payment of $121.71, for a Total Loan Cost of $23,134.44. For a borrower with $20,000 in prior loans and a 2-year in-school period, it works out to a 10.78% fixed APR, 27 payments of $25.00, 179 payments of $132.53 and one payment of $40.35 for a total loan cost of $24,438.22. Loans that are subject to a $50 minimum principal and interest payment amount may receive a loan term that is less than 10 years. A variable APR may increase over the life of the loan. A fixed APR will not.

footnote Information advertised valid as of 3/25/2025.

footnote SALLIE MAE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. CHECK SALLIEMAE.COM FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE PRODUCT INFORMATION. 

footnote Sallie Mae loans are made by Sallie Mae Bank.