Sallie Mae 2014 Annual Report Download - page 6

Upromise by Sallie Mae
The Upromise by Sallie Mae save-for-college rewards program is a consumer service committed to helping Americans
save for higher education. Membership is free and each year approximately 700,000 consumers enroll to use the service.
Members earn money for college by receiving cash back when shopping at participating on-line or brick-and-mortar retailers,
booking travel or dining out at participating merchants or by using their Upromise MasterCard. As of December 31, 2014, more
than 1,000 merchants participated by providing discounts that are returned to the consumer. Since inception, Upromise
members have saved approximately $900 million for college, and more than 340,000 members actively use the Upromise credit
card for everyday purchases.
Our Approach to Advising Students and Families How to Pay for College
Our annual research on How America Pays for College1 confirms students and their families cover the cost of college
using multiple sources, including savings, current income, grants, scholarships, federal education loans and Private Education
Loans.
According to this research, just 41 percent of families have a plan to pay for college. Sallie Mae has created online
financial literacy resources, including interactive tools, calculators and content, at SallieMae.com/PlanforCollege to help
families create a comprehensive financial plan to save and pay for college. Plan for College features the College Planning
Calculator, an interactive tool families may use to set college savings goals, project the full cost of a college degree and
estimate future student loan payments and the annual starting salary level needed to keep payments manageable. In addition,
Sallie Mae launched a free mobile app, College Ahead, a tool to help high school juniors and seniors prepare for college.
To encourage responsible borrowing, Sallie Mae advises students and their families to follow this three-step process to
pay for college:
Step 1: Use scholarships, grants, savings and income.
We provide free access to an extensive online database of scholarships which includes information about more than 3
million scholarships with an aggregate value in excess of $18 billion.
Through the Bank, we offer traditional savings products, like High-Yield Savings Accounts, Money Market Accounts and
CDs.
In addition, our Upromise by Sallie Mae save-for-college rewards program helps families jumpstart their save-for-college
plans by providing financial rewards on everyday purchases made at participating merchants.
Step 2: Pursue federal government loan options.
We encourage students to explore federal government loan options, including Perkins loans, Direct loans and PLUS
loans. Students apply for federal student aid, including federal student loans, by completing the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid ("FAFSA"). For additional information, we encourage consumers to contact their schools’ financial aid office or
the Department of Education.
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. To ensure applicants borrow only what they need to cover their school’s
cost of attendance, we actively engage with schools and require school certification before we disburse a Private Education
Loan. To help applicants understand their loan and its terms, we provide multiple, customized disclosures explaining the
applicant’s starting interest rate, the interest rate during the life of the loan and their loan’s total cost under the available
repayment options. Our Smart Option Student Loan features no origination fees and no prepayment penalties, provides rewards
for paying on time, and offers a choice of repayment options, and either variable or fixed interest rates.
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1 Sallie Mae’s How America Pays for College 2014, conducted by Ipsos, www.salliemae.com/howamericapays.
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