<p>So, for my freshman year of college I had to take out a private loan of $5900 from Sallie Mae. We had monthly payments (just for interest) and they were made every month for a year, and this month we paid the entire amount back so I no longer have that loan. Will this improve my credit enough so that I can finally get a loan from Sallie Mae by myself? I have no other credit history from anything, so please let me know.</p>
<p>Are you employed with a steady job? Do you have assets in the bank? Own property? Do you have a credit history aside from the student loan (for which you had a co-signer who assumed the bulk of the risk for the loan–at least in the lender’s eyes.)?</p>
<p>If the answer to most of these questions is no, then likely you will still need a co-signer.</p>
<p>The problem isn’t just having a credit score–it’s having some sort of collateral that the lender can file a lien against or an income they can attach if you default.</p>