Flight training is notorious for being expensive. There are a lot of costs that must be paid in a short span of time when compared to other educational pursuits. As a result, it is not uncommon for student pilots to take breaks in between certificates and ratings in order to source more financing before continuing on to the next milestone. When we take long breaks in between flying, returning to the cockpit requires a period of knocking off the rust and getting back into the flying mindset. This in itself makes everything take longer and be costlier.
Fortunately, new financing has been made available recently via Sallie Mae. Student pilots can take advantage ( if they are eligible ) and receive full financing for training up to commercial certificate and possibly up to CFI and CFII. Sallie Mae is the largest U.S. bank that provides educational loans.
I have been fortunate enough to receive financing through Sallie Mae recently, to help finish up commercial multi-engine training. I found out about Sallie Mae through constant searches on the internet of my parents to find extra ways to help finance my training. Shortly after we found it on the internet Wayman Aviation Academy announced the partnership with Sallie Mae.
“All in all, it was a much simpler and quicker process than I thought it would be”
The process was actually rather simple and quick. All it took was going to the Sallie Mae website, creating an account to login then applying for a loan to get started. Here is the main information that will be needed:
- Your permanent address (parents)
- School information and program
- Period of enrollment
- Loan amount needed
- Employment information
- Financial information
- Social Security Number
If you are an international student like I am and have no social security number, you can use a consignor. The consignor should be someone who is a US Citizen or resident that has a social security number. They will also be required to provide some information similar to what you provided. Choose a co-signer with good credit, so they can help your application.
Once I applied and submitted all supporting documents Sallie Mae emailed me a few days later saying the loan was approved. Sallie Mae will also notify Wayman Aviation Academy that I was approved and once the school’s administration accepts it Sallie Mae then disburses the funds to your student flight account. The repayment amount depends on how much you need to borrow and which interest rates you get. Repayment amounts are very low whilst you finish training and you will not be required to repay in larger amounts until about 6 months after you graduate.
All in all, it was a much simpler and quicker process than I thought it would be. Having all the funds needed to complete training without taking breaks takes a lot of pressure off the already challenging task of learning to fly. You are able to have much greater peace of mind and focus solely on training instead of having to think about finances constantly. I would recommend any student who needs financing to consider looking into Sallie Mae. Visit Wayman.edu/financing.
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