Sallie Mae `Smart Summer Sweepstakes` Awards $10,000 in College Scholarships to Help Students Pursue Their Education

Sallie Mae ‘Smart Summer Sweepstakes’ Awards $10,000 in College Scholarships to Help Students Pursue Their Education

Funding their college education just got easier for three college students, thanks to Sallie Mae. Over the summer, Sallie Mae, the nation’s No. 1 financial services company specializing in education, helped students prepare for a financially fit fall semester with tips and giveaways, including $10,000 in cash for college, as part of its ‘Smart Summer Sweepstakes’ on Facebook.

“Sallie Mae is committed to helping students financially prepare for college, and our ‘Smart Summer Sweepstakes’ helped educate students on finances while they took a summer break before hitting the books again this school year,” said Martha Holler, senior vice president, Sallie Mae.

More than 5,600 college students entered and winners were selected at random. The $5,000 scholarship grand prize winner was Keri Pfeiffer, 21, from Germantown, Wisc., senior at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Elliot Upin, 21, from Edina, Minn., senior at George Washington University, and Kristen Robertson, 21, from Riverside, Calif., senior at California Baptist University, each won a $2,500 scholarship.

“Words can’t even describe my excitement about winning the $5,000 scholarship!” said Pfeiffer. “I called my parents, sister and all of my friends to tell them the good news. The money will help me pay for tuition after my study abroad year in Paris.”

“The scholarship from Sallie Mae will help me pay for tuition and books,” said Upin, one of the scholarship awardees. “My father has always said, ‘The harder you work, the luckier you get,’ and maybe that’s why I was fortunate enough to win!”

“I’ve applied for hundreds of scholarships, and this is the first one I received; I am so thrilled,” said Robertson. “I will be putting this money towards tuition as I finish up my last year in school.”

In addition to the scholarships, Sallie Mae awarded a ticket and travel package to the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Sept. 18, to three lucky college students. Another nine students won $100 gift cards to help them with their back-to-school needs at retail partners of Sallie Mae’s Upromise college savings rewards program, including Apple, BestBuy, Nike and Gap.

High school and college students and their parents are invited to visit SallieMae.com and Facebook.com/SallieMae to tap free tools such as Sallie Mae’s scholarship search and Education Investment Planner and to learn more about saving, planning and paying for college.

Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM) is the nation’s No. 1 financial services company specializing in education. Serving 23 million customers, Sallie Mae offers innovative savings tools, tuition payment plans and education loans that promote responsible financial habits and reward success. Through its subsidiaries, the company manages or services $234 billion in education loans and administers $38 billion in 529 college savings plans. Members of its Upromise college savings rewards program have earned $625 million to help pay for college. Sallie Mae is also one of the leading financial service providers for universities and governments at all levels, including supporting $8 billion in ecommerce transactions annually at nearly 1,000 campuses. More information is available at www.SallieMae.com. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries, commonly known as Sallie Mae, are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.

Sallie Mae
Debby Hohler, 617-454-6741
dhohler@upromise.com
or
Duffy & Shanley
Emily Hollenbeck, 401-278-4432
ehollenbeck@duffyshanley.com