ATP financing through Sallie Mae Loan

Airline Pilot Questions & Answers
1

I plan on attending ATP next year. I’m sure you all know that they finance the training through Sallie Mae. I would like to know what’s the criteria for the cosigner. I especially would like to know if there any minimum income requirement. Thanks

1 Like
2

Hi Jonathan,

For finance related questions we recommend you contact ATP directly (1-800-ALL-ATPS) and talk to the people in finance. They’re the professionals and can answer any and all.

Adam

3

Jonathan,

The team in the admissions department could really answer your questions better than we could as they are the experts on financing. Give them a call, they should be able to explain everything to you in detail.

Chris

1 Like
4

Being that i literally just went thru it, I might be able to help.
You need to show solid income basis as well as for your cosigner. But most important, the debt to income ratio plays a determining factor in any loan. Like Chris and Adam said, call ATP finance department and those guys are awesome! They will get you through the process with the best alternatives! Good luck.

5

If you don’t mind me asking did you apply with a consigner? I’m just trying to see the odds of getting approved without cosigner

7

I asked them. They are giving me pretty vague answers. They say " Go ahead, apply and find out!". I don’t want to end up in denial and an added hard credit inquiry. It’s really sad that those guys do not have straightforward answers.

8

Hi Warv,

Yes, I did! Back in December 2014. I didn’t get approved because I didn’t have a cosigner back then. Plus, they said that they need work experience, working for the same employer for at least 2+ yrs.

9

Hey Warv, my case is a little out of norm, since i have been working for over 10 years here in the USA. Nonetheless, I had applied twice for Sallie Mae and a few more for Wells. I dodnt qualify at first for the full amount on either one so i had to do two separate applications for lower amounts. On Sallie Mae i qualified without cosigner. On Wells I needed a cosigner. I did go for the 40 hr ME program." For tour reference.
Good luck
Enrico

10

Jonathan,

In their defense they’re not the ones making the decision, Sallie Mae is and the answers are not written in stone. I actually worked in a bank credit dept many lifetimes ago and these decisions are based on a number of different factors. There certainly are minimum income requirements as well as income to debt ratios, credit history, credit rating, home ownership, job stability, the list is long and virtually all these decisions are made on a case by case basis.

Adam

11

Thanks Adam for the info. Both I and my wife have excellent credit at this point (750+) and over 4+ years (4-5) of credit history. We also haven’t changed jobs in the past 3 years so we both have (3-4 yrs) of work experience with the same employer. My monthly income is $2300 but my wife makes less than $2000 ($1850). I’m struggling to find the minimum income requirement for the cosigner before we apply because my wife is going to take a 2nd job just for this purpose, if her income is below the minimum. If someone can help me with this, I’d greatly appreciate it.

12

Hi Cesar,
What was the minimum income requirement for your cosigner? Can you give me a brief idea of what things they looked for in your cosigner?

13

I was told (semi-officially) by Wells Fargo about a month ago that they “like” to see 3-4x the expected monthly loan payment after housing and regular bills (for the cosigner) are paid for the month. As Adam said though, these credit decisions are all very individual and there is no one exact answer to fit everyone. As for worrying about the “hard inquiry”, unless you’ve been applying for a lot of loans and credit recently, one or two won’t affect your score much at all, it’s when you start having a bunch of credit applications all within the same year or so that creditors begin to worry and your score goes down.

1 Like
14

Jonathan,

I think you will find that there is no one number that is the minimum income requirement. As Adam said, each case is unique and the bank evaluates each application on its own merits. It is a proponderance of all the facts that they will use to make their decision, not just a few specific criteria. At the end of the day, you will need to apply to see if you are eligible.

Chris

15

Thanks Adam, Chris, and Red. One more question. When your cosigner is your spouse, do they look into the combined household income or individual income as the applicant and cosigner? Any insight would be appreciated. What was your experience like?

16

I believe they look at it in both manners. The banks do a very thorough check, they look at your application from every direction possible.

I was a college student with no credit history, so I used my mother as a co-signer. She had a pretty decent income, so it wasn’t an issue.

17

I just went through the process. The first time that I tried, about a year ago. I didn’t get approved. My debt to income was too high. Over the next 10 months I paid off my car and credit cards, that did the trick. While I did have a cosigner, my credit score was higher than theirs. In my case it seems as if they just wanted financial backing for loan repayment purposes. My advice not completely knowing your situation is to have as little debt as possible. Hope this helps and good luck.

18

Kevin, thanks for your advice. What should be the debt to income ratio? What’s the cap?

19

Is it possible for say your wife and a parent to get the loan for me? Since my wife and my parents make good money I was wondering if the chances would be better letting them two sign the loan for me.

20

Guys, honestly I think (hope) you all know we love to answer any and all but when it comes to financing it’s really best you call ATP direct. They can give you much more accurate info on the subject.

Adam