Sallie Mae Announces Monthly $1,000 Plan for College Sweepstakes

NEWARK, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Sallie Mae – the nation's saving, planning, and paying for college company – today announced its monthly sweepstakes to encourage more families to plan for college in 2015. Each month, Sallie Mae will award $1,000 to a recipient who registers for one of the company's free plan for college tools available at SallieMae.com/planforcollege. The money can then be used towards tuition and fees at their current or future college or university.

Sallie Mae's Plan for College offers free interactive tools, including a college planning calculator and a comprehensive scholarship search home to more than 3 million scholarships worth more than $18 billion. In 2014, two high school students and 10 college students received $1,000 of free money from Sallie Mae by registering for one of these free tools.

"When Sallie Mae told me I won the sweepstakes, I was thrilled," said Holli Walden, from Taylorville, Ill., sweepstakes winner for December 2014. "Every bit counts when it comes to paying for college, so winning this money will really help. I'm so grateful to Sallie Mae for providing free planning tools and for offering this sweepstakes."

In addition, the following high school and college students received $1,000 for college in 2014 through the Sallie Mae $1,000 Sweepstakes:

• Alyssa Aguilar, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
• Alissa Rosen, Lynn, Mass.
• Shaquita White, Chesapeake, Va.
• Rachael Jackson, Houston, Texas
• Javen Cook, Gilbert, Ariz.
• Kyla Smith, Oklahoma City, Okla.
• Nia Joseph, Bradenton, Fla.
• Jeanna Kawamoto, University Place, Wash.
• Manoah Farmer, Evansville, Ind.
• Clarissa Kristie, Ridley Park, Pa.
• Gary Cecil, Okmulgee, Okla.

"Time and again through research and conversations with families, we hear that those with a plan for college are better prepared to meet the cost of college," said Martha Holler, senior vice president, Sallie Mae. "Our monthly sweepstakes is, we hope, a motivator that incents families to start thinking about planning for college and to take advantage of the free resources available to help them do just that."

Sallie Mae recommends following a 1-2-3 approach when paying for college: students should maximize money that does not need to be repaid such as scholarships and grants; second, explore federal student loans; and, third, consider a responsible private education loan.

To register for the Sallie Mae $1,000 Sweepstakes, or for more information on planning for college, visit SallieMae.com/PlanForCollege. For official sweepstakes rules, visit SallieMae.com/SweepstakesRules.

Join the conversation on how to save, plan and pay for college at Facebook.com/SallieMae and Twitter.com/SallieMae.

Sallie Mae SLM is the nation's saving, planning, and paying for college company. Whether college is a long way off or just around the corner, Sallie Mae offers products that promote responsible personal finance including private education loans, Upromise rewards, scholarship search, college financial planning tools, insurance, and online retail banking. Learn more at SallieMae.com. Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.