Cast a Vote to Help Decide Who Wins $5,000 for Education
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.
SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the
nation’s leading provider of saving, planning and paying for education
programs. Through its subsidiaries, the company manages $185 billion in
education loans and serves 10 million student and parent customers.
Through its Upromise affiliates, the company also manages more than $17
billion in 529 college-savings plans, and is a major, private source of
college funding contributions in America with 10 million members and
more than $475 million in member rewards. Sallie Mae and its
subsidiaries offer debt management services as well as business and
technical products to a range of business clients, including higher
education institutions, 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.
Sallie Mae
Media
Erica Eriksdotter, +1-703-984-5628
Erica.Eriksdotter@SallieMae.com
