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Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loan® Program

Catalyst provides credit unions a private student loan referral program through a partnership with Sallie Mae®. The Smart Option Student Loan® is a private student loan available for member credit unions to offer members as a way to pay for college expenses not covered by scholarships and federal loans. The program not only benefits credit union members by assisting them with finding a way to pay for college but also benefits the credit union by generating additional fee income.

As college costs continue to increase, there has been a widening gap between costs and available federal financial aid. The Smart Option Student Loan was created to help families fill that gap. For 2012 it has been estimated that over 19 million students will be enrolled in U.S. colleges¹ and nearly $8 billion in private student loans is likely to be required². This private student loan program will enable credit unions to retain and grow member relationships by offering this solution as a complement to student checking, debit cards, online banking, auto loans, and other financial products.

Why should credit unions offer the Smart Option Student Loan?

The Smart Option Student Loan expands a credit union's product line at no cost or funding, while offering a high-value product helping to attract and retain valuable customers. This program generates fee income per originated loan without any upfront investment from the credit union. Credit unions are offered all of this and more starting with website activation within a few weeks.

What does Smart Option Student Loan®offer a credit union's members?

The Smart Option Student Loan helps credit union families get the money they need for college. After maximizing scholarships and federal loans they can borrow up to 100% of their school-certified costs of education (minimum $1,000).
They can also enjoy competitive interest rates and choose from three simple repayment options. Participants can choose to make monthly interest-only or fixed monthly payments while in school and during the six month separation period or defer payments until after school.³ Not only do the in-school repayment options significantly reduce the total cost of the loan, but they also help borrowers build credit.
Members can earn rewards for paying on time⁴ and can enroll in automatic monthly payments for a benefit that may lower their interest rate⁵.
Applying online is easy – it only takes about 15 minutes to apply and get a credit result.
With Sallie Mae's high-quality customer service and technical assistance, credit union members will be well served. They also have online access 24 hours a day, seven days a week to manage their loans through the activity center.

Now credit union members can pay for college the smart way, with the Smart Option Student Loan by Sallie Mae.

To get started today...

Contact an account executive at 800.301.6196.

¹IES National Center for Education Statistics Projections of Education Statistics to 2019. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Read it
²College Board Trends in Student Aid 2010 (Preliminary 09-10) Read it
³The Deferred Repayment Option is only available for degree-granting institutions. Unpaid interest will capitalize when the loan enters principal and interest repayment.
⁴Primary borrower can earn reward into his or her Upromise ® account of 2% of the scheduled payment for each on time payment made during the in-school and separation period only while enrolled as a Upromise member. Primary borrower must be of age of majority (typically 18 years old). If borrower has two consecutive scheduled payments past due on a loan, he or she will no longer be eligible for the reward on that loan. The reward is not earned on payment amounts in excess of the scheduled payment. Benefit is subject to the terms and conditions of the Upromise service (as may be amended from time to time), including without limitation, restrictions on conversion, transfer and redemption of rewards, reward denomination, including whether and under what circumstances the rewards have independent cash value, and terms relating to fees and/or the forfeiture of rewards. Upromise is a registered service mark of Upromise, Inc.
⁵Recurring automatic monthly payments must be successfully deducted from designated bank account for rate reduction to apply. Benefit suspended during periods of forbearance and certain deferments.

SALLIE MAE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. CHECK THE SALLIE MAE WEBSITE (www.salliemae.com) TO OBTAIN THE MOST UP-TO-DATE PRODUCT INFORMATION.

The Sallie Mae logo, Sallie Mae, Sallie Mae Bank, Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loan, and Smart Option Student Loan are registered service marks of Sallie Mae, Inc. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries, including Sallie Mae, Inc., are not sponsored by, or agencies of, the United States of America.

Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loans are made by Sallie Mae Bank®.

Sallie Mae partners are compensated for the referral of Smart Option Student Loan customers.

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