RESTON, Va., June 18, 2009—Sallie Mae, the nation’s leading saving, planning and paying for education company, today announced its Saving for College video contest, which gives families a chance to win up to $5,000 for their child’s education. Entries can be submitted online at www.SallieMae.com/savecontest and anyone can vote to help decide which participants will win.
A national study from Sallie Mae and Gallup released last month found that the U.S. economic crisis has caused almost half of parents with college-bound children to decrease the amount they are saving or not to save at all. The video contest is designed to raise awareness of the importance of saving for college.
From turning down the air conditioner to clipping coupons, the contest asks families to creatively share their best and brightest ideas on spending less now to save more for the future. Video entries should show how people are saving to achieve the dream of higher education – whether for themselves, their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews or family friends.
To help families develop a saving-for-college plan—based on their children’s age and the type of college they may be likely to attend—Sallie Mae recently added a new module to its online Education Investment Planner, available free to anyone at www.SallieMae.com/save. In addition, Sallie Mae’s Upromise rewards service enables families to save money for college while making everyday purchases of participating products and services from groceries to gas, shopping their favorite online stores, dining out or even booking travel online for a summer vacation.
Contest participants can enter Sallie Mae’s Saving for College video contest through Aug. 1, 2009, by uploading a video clip of 30 seconds or less. The public will help choose 10 finalists by voting up to once per day between now and the Aug. 1 deadline. Entries will also be judged on quality, creativity and fit to theme. Once the finalists have been selected, America will again be invited to vote for the grand prize winner between Aug. 10 and 25. Winners will be announced in early September as part of National College Savings Month.
The winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize for their college fund, and the runner-up will receive a $1,000 cash prize. The remaining eight finalists will each receive $250. To enter a video, vote, or learn more, visit www.SallieMae.com/savecontest. No purchase necessary to participate and the contest is void where prohibited by law.
For more information contact:
Erica Eriksdotter (703) 984-5628
SLM Corporation (NYSE:
SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the nation’s leading saving, planning and paying for education company. Sallie Mae’s saving programs, planning resources and financing options have helped more than 31 million people make the investment in higher education. Through its subsidiaries, the company manages $176 billion in education loans and serves 10 million student and parent customers. In addition, the company’s Upromise program has enabled 11 million members to earn more than $525 million in rewards to help pay for college. Its Upromise affiliates also manage more than $23 billion in 529 college-savings plans. Sallie Mae offers services to a range of institutional clients, including colleges and universities, student loan guarantors and state and federal agencies. More information is available at
www.SallieMae.com. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.