Sallie Mae 2013 Annual Report Download - page 5

The completion of the Spin-Off is subject to certain customary conditions, including final approval by
our Board of Directors, confirmation of the tax-free nature of the transaction by the Internal Revenue
Service (“IRS”), and the effectiveness of New Corporation’s registration statement, which was initially
filed with the SEC on December 6, 2013 and subsequently amended on February 7, 2014, which can be
accessed through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov/edgar. The contemplated Spin-Off will not require a
stockholder vote. Although we currently anticipate the Spin-Off will be completed during the first half of
2014, there can be no assurance as to when or if the Spin-Off will ultimately occur. See the section titled
“Risks Related to the Spin-Off” in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for a discussion of the risks and uncertainties
related to the Spin-Off. All information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K regarding the proposed Spin-
Off, and any description of the anticipated consumer banking business of the registrant after the Spin-Off,
is qualified by the foregoing.
Our Approach to Advising Students and Families How to Pay for College
Students and their families use multiple sources of funding to pay for their college education, including
savings, current income, grants, scholarships, federal education loans and Private Education Loans. We use
“Private Education Loans” to mean education loans to students or their families that are non-federal loans not
insured or guaranteed under the previously existing Federal Family Education Loan Program (“FFELP”). We
advise students and their families to follow a three-step process to pay for college. In recent years, we have
increased our focus on business-to-consumer and business-to-business activities that align with each of these
three steps and future plans revolve largely around continuing to develop these types of activities.
Step 1: Use scholarships, grants, savings and income.
We make available to consumers at no charge an extensive online database of scholarships which includes
information about more than three million scholarships with an aggregate value in excess of $16 billion. Our
Upromise consumer savings network helps families jumpstart their save-for-college plan by providing financial
rewards on everyday purchases. Traditional savings products, like High-Yield Savings Accounts, Money Market
Accounts and CDs, are available through Sallie Mae Bank.
Step 2: Pursue federal government loan options.
We encourage consumers to explore federal government loan options. Our free online tool, the Education
Investment Planner, helps families estimate the full cost of a college degree and build a customized plan to pay
for the full cost of a college degree. The Education Investment Planner takes families through a series of
questions, prompting users to model various funding sources — including 529 college-savings plans, parent and
student savings and income, scholarships, federal and state grants, institutional aid, and if necessary, federal and
private student loans. The Education Investment Planner also estimates monthly payments on education loans
and helps project how much a graduate would need to earn to keep payments manageable.
Step 3: Consider affordable Private Education Loans to fill the gap.
We offer Private Education Loan products to bridge the gap between family resources, federal loans, grants,
student aid and scholarships, and the cost of a college education. While we actively maintain our presence in
school marketing channels, we also continue to develop and evolve our marketing efforts through various other
direct and indirect marketing channels, such as direct mailings, Internet channels and marketing alliances with
various banks and financial institutions.
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