I am a third year PhD student in the sciences, and because of budget issues at work I was forced to apply for a Sallie Mae loan. The school that I attend wasn't listed as a Sallie Mae loan recipient, so I got the school and Sallie Mae to work together so that it could be approved. This cost a semester of graduate school, however, the school was approved and I was given the green light to apply for a loan. I got a cosigner, we both went through credit checks, and I was given loan approval.
The time came to pay for tuition, and neither I nor the school could get Sallie Mae to pay it. After weeks of Sallie Mae telling me that they would send paperwork to the school, contact the school, etc. Nothing happened. I then posted on their facebook page, which got a response and I got passed to their escalation team. According to Sallie Mae, my program isn't eligible for a loan EVEN THOUGH I WAS TOLD IT WAS, WENT THROUGH A CREDIT CHECK, AND WAS GIVEN LOAN APPROVAL. They then cancelled my account and the approval information, and at this point I've been dropped from school enrollment because of tuition non-payment. So at this point I'm out of graduate school for a year, and I've been in touch with a contract lawyer to see if I have legal grounds to sue them.
Let this be a cautionary tale. Beg, borrow, or steal before you use this company for any educational loan product. Look at the number of complaints that Sallie Mae has, and the number of class action lawsuits they have been on the receiving end of.
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