Student Loans F A Qs

Get answers to your most frequently asked questions about applying for student loans. 

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Use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form on the FAFSA® website to apply for financial aid for college or graduate school. Many states and colleges have set priority deadlines when you’ll need to submit the FAFSA® form to be considered for the aid programs they administer. There is also a federal deadline each academic year.

Private student loans are credit-based, which means through our partnership with Sallie Mae®, they will check your credit when you submit your application. Applying for a Smart Option  Student Loan® with a cosigner may help your chances for approval. A cosigner is someone who shares responsibility with you for paying back the loan and is often a parent, but can be any creditworthy adult who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident.

Yes. Students with a Sallie Mae® Smart Option Student Loan® that are attending at least half time can use their loan funds to pay for all of their school-certified expenses like tuition, fees, books, housing, meals, travel, and even a laptop.

Loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less financial aid received, as certified by the school. Sallie Mae reserves the right to approve a lower loan amount than the school-certified amount. Miscellaneous personal expenses (such as a laptop) may be included in the cost of attendance for students enrolled at least half-time.

Parents can help their students pay for college in two ways: they can cosign a Smart Option Student Loan® or take out an M&T Bank CHOICEquity Line of Credit. These are separate loans with different features and interest rates, so parents should compare their loan options.

Students with a Sallie Mae® Smart Option Student Loan® can apply just once a year with a single credit check and funds are sent (also known as disbursed) for each term directly to your school. You can cancel future disbursements as needed with no penalty. No additional interest is charged until money is sent to your school, so you can relax, knowing you've got the funds when you need them.

A student loan with a variable interest rate can rise or fall as the market index changes, so your student loan payments may vary over time. A student loan with a fixed interest rate will have predictable monthly payments with a rate that doesn’t change over the life of the loan. 

Yes, completing and submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) each year is the single most important thing you can do to get financial aid for college or graduate school, but completing the FAFSA® is not a requirement to get a private student loan. 

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
  • Winter or Summer classes
  • Study abroad
  • Professional certification courses
  • A U.S. citizen or permanent resident enrolled in a school in a foreign country
  • Undergraduate, career training and graduate loans: a non-U.S. citizen student, 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)

Our loan applications are subject to a minimum loan amount of $1,000. The maximum amount depends on the type of student loan requested. For the Smart Option Student Loan® and graduate student loans, you can borrow up to 100% of the school-certified expenses– however, the loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less financial aid received as certified by the school. For Post-Graduate loans, the maximum amounts range from $15,000-$30,000 depending on the type of loan.

Loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less financial aid received, as certified by the school. Sallie Mae reserves the right to approve a lower loan amount than the school-certified amount. Miscellaneous personal expenses (such as a laptop) may be included in the cost of attendance for students enrolled at least half-time.

It takes about 15 minutes to apply and get a credit decision. If you’re approved, you choose your student loan options, accept your loan disclosure, and the loan is certified by your school. The funds are sent (disbursed) directly to the school. The process can take as few as 5 business days from an approved application to disbursement.

A certification request is sent to your school after your loan is approved. All schools have different processes for certification - some certify daily, weekly, biweekly, etc. Most schools only certify 30 days before the enrollment period begins, even though you may have applied months in advance. Usually no actions are required from you or your cosigner during this time. We’ll keep you posted so you always know where we are in the process.

When certification is received, and after the right to cancel period has expired, your student loan is ready to be disbursed. A disbursement is funds that are sent to your school. Loan funds may be divided into multiple disbursements (usually one per semester). If you chose a repayment option that requires in-school payments, your monthly payments will begin as soon as your funds are disbursed. 

When you are applying for a student loan from M&T in partnership with Sallie Mae®, you will be transferred to our servicing provider, Sallie Mae®.

With the Sallie Mae® Smart Option Student Loan® & Graduate Student Loans, you can select from three repayment options - you can choose to make payments while in school with monthly interest payments or with fixed  payments, or you can choose to defer payments until after school. No matter which option you choose, you have at least six months after you leave school (your grace period) before you begin to make principal and interest payments.

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.


Borrow responsibly. We encourage students and families to start with savings, grants, scholarships, and federal student loans to pay for college. Students and families should evaluate all anticipated monthly loan payments, and how much the student expects to earn in the future, before considering a private student loan.
Unless otherwise specified, all advertised offers and terms and conditions of accounts and services are subject to change at any time without notice. After an account is opened or service begins, it is subject to its features, conditions and terms, which are subject to change at any time in accordance with applicable laws and agreements. Please contact an M&T representative for details.
All loans and lines of credit and all terms referenced are subject to credit approval and other conditions. Other terms, conditions, fees and restrictions may apply.
FAFSA® is a registered service mark of U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid.
Loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less financial aid received, as certified by the school. Sallie Mae reserves the right to approve a lower loan amount than the school-certified amount. Miscellaneous personal expenses (such as a laptop) may be included in the cost of attendance for students enrolled at least half-time.
SALLIE MAE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE.

© 2024 Sallie Mae Bank. All rights reserved. Sallie Mae, the Sallie Mae logo, and other Sallie Mae names and logos are service marks or registered service marks of Sallie Mae Bank or its subsidiaries. All other names and logos used are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries, including Sallie Mae Bank, are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.
These loans are made by Sallie Mae Bank. M&T Bank is not the creditor for these loans and is compensated by Sallie Mae for the referral of loan customers. 
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., apply with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident), and provide an unexpired government-issued photo ID. Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000.

Graduate School Loan and Graduate School Loan for Health Professions are for graduate students at participating degree-granting schools and are subject to credit approval, identity verification, signed loan documents, and school certification. 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., apply with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident), and provide an unexpired government-issued photo ID. Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000.

MBA Loans are for graduate students in an M.B.A. program at participating degree-granting schools and are subject to credit approval, identity verification, signed loan documents, and school certification. 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., apply with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident), and provide an unexpired government-issued photo ID. Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000.

Medical School Loans are for graduate students in an M.D., D.O., D.V.M., V.M.D., or D.P.M. program at participating degree-granting schools and are subject to credit approval, identity verification, signed loan documents, and school certification. Graduate Certificate/Continuing Education coursework is not eligible. 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., apply with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident), and provide an unexpired government-issued photo ID. Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000.

Dental School Loans are for graduate students in a D.D.S. or D.M.D. program at participating degree-granting schools and are subject to credit approval, identity verification, signed loan documents, and school certification. Graduate Certificate/Continuing Education coursework is not eligible. 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., apply with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident), and provide an unexpired government-issued photo ID. Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000.

Law School Loans are for graduate students in a J.D. or L.L.M. program at participating degree-granting schools and are subject to credit approval, identity verification, signed loan documents, and school certification. Graduate Certificate/Continuing Education coursework is not eligible. 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., apply with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident), and provide an unexpired government-issued photo ID. Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000.
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.