Sallie Mae originated under government sponsorship in 1972. In 1997, privation efforts began which were years later concluded with Congress terminating Sallie Mae's federal charter in 2004. Despite its severing of government ties, the company is still the United States' largest grantor of federally guaranteed loans to students. The company has increased its scope in current years to provide several different business products to a range of clients including universities. In 2007, a deal which would have put Sallie Mae into the hands of J.C. Flowers and Friedman Fleischer & Lowe (who would become the primary owners along with Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase) fell through allowing Sallie Mae to remain a publically traded company. The deal allegedly tanked due to a poor fiscal outlook.
Sallie Mae is both a Fortune 500 and a Forbes Global 2000 company. It has received several recognitions such as being listed in the "100 Best Corporate Citizens" named by Business Ethics magazine. Sallie Mae is also rated as a top 30 company for women as ranked by the National Association of Female Executives. The company also sponsors its own charity entitled "The Sallie Mae Fund" which seeks to help students in America achieve their goal of higher education. Over 10 million has been award in scholarships through this initiative.
Those who apply for a Sallie Mae loan need to research the particular loan that would be most beneficial to them. There are several types of Sallie Mae loans including those for undergraduates as well as parent loans, graduate loans and other individual loans. The amount of money borrowed should be considered along with the time table for repaying the loan, whether to have a co-signer and any penalties associated with late payments or defaults. The Sallie Mae official website is an excellent source for information (see Resources below).
A Sallie Mae loan, though federally insured, is a loan which must be paid back rather than a grant or scholarship which is not is not subject to repayment. Repayment includes not only the loan itself but any interest, origination fees and insurance. You as a borrower are required to keep Sallie Mae updated as to any changes in your address, telephone numbers, employment and changes in name (such as when adopting a new married name). In certain cases, borrowers who have finished their education but are not yet capable of repaying their loans may be granted a deferment or forbearance by the loan holder.
The benefits of a Sallie Mae loan include the access to higher education and access to educational institutions which may be too costly for a student to pay without help. Other benefits include borrowing from a federally insured pool of money and from a company with a successful business history going back to 1972. Borrowers also benefit by having a generally flexible repayment period with reasonable repayment terms.