Find Free Money for College with Sallie Mae’s Scholarship Search Tool: Home to More Than $24 Billion in Scholarships

November is National Scholarship Month and With Scholarships
Available for Just About All Interests and Hobbies, Now’s the Time to
Begin the Search

Students Who Register for Sallie Mae’s Scholarship Search Tool
During National Scholarship Month Will be Entered to Win $5,000

NEWARK, Del.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–College scholarships come in all shapes and sizes, and billions of
dollars are awarded every year; the key is knowing where to find them.
This National Scholarship Month, Sallie Mae — the nation’s saving,
planning, and paying for college company — is reminding students that
finding free money for college is just a few clicks away, thanks to Scholarship
Search by Sallie Mae, the free scholarship search home to 5 million
scholarships valued at $24 billion.

Available scholarships run the gamut and extend well beyond academics or
athletics to a wide range of activities, interests, and affiliations.
From scholarships for dart players and vegetarians to filmmakers and
those fluent in Klingon, Scholarship
Search by Sallie Mae offers awards that match all kinds of interests.

Scholarship
Search is easy to use: just register (for free), fill out a brief
profile, and start searching. The tool responds with matches that
identify relevant scholarships and their award amounts, application
requirements, and deadlines, and it automatically sends updates when it
identifies new matches. Have a passion for designing
greeting cards? There’s a scholarship for that! Interested in
helping people understand the perils of texting
when driving or have an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning
of “Atlas
Shrugged?” There are scholarships for both!

“Scholarship money doesn’t have to be paid back, and it can
significantly reduce out-of-pocket college costs for families,” said
Martha Holler, senior vice president, Sallie Mae. “In fact, more than a
third of college costs were covered by scholarships
and grants in the 2015-2016 academic year. It’s worth investing the
time to investigate scholarships, and our Scholarship Search tool
simplifies the process, so students can spend less time researching and
more time refining their applications.”

Those who register
for Sallie Mae’s Scholarship Search are also automatically eligible to
win the Plan
for College Sweepstakes, which awards $1,000 each month to a winner
selected at random. To commemorate National Scholarship Month, Sallie
Mae is increasing the amount awarded in the November drawing to $5,000.

Sallie Mae offers these scholarship tips:

• Be careful. Never pay for scholarships or for scholarship
  searches. School counselors and school financial aid offices can
  recommend other reputable options.
• Be thorough. Don’t overlook smaller scholarships. Even a few
  hundred dollars can help offset the cost of textbooks and supplies.
• Be proactive. Apply for scholarships every year. Approximately
  50 percent of available scholarships are for students already enrolled
  in college.
• Be diligent. Pay attention to details. Follow instructions and
  proofread carefully.
• Be on time. Meet deadlines. If the application can’t be
  submitted electronically, use certified mail.

In addition to offering the free Scholarship
Search, Sallie Mae also awards its own scholarships. In the past 12
months, Sallie Mae has provided more than $414,000 in scholarships to nonprofit
organizations; to students through its “Make
College Happen Challenge,” “Bridging
the Dream” scholarship, and other scholarship programs; and to employees.
In connection with National Scholarship Month, the company’s charitable
foundation, The
Sallie Mae Fund, will match contributions employees make to
institutions of higher learning or educational scholarship funds during
November, up to $500 per employee.

For more tips on how to find and apply for scholarships, check out
Sallie Mae’s scholarship infographic,
watch the Scholarship
Search video, and join the Twitter chat Sallie Mae co-hosts with Smart
College Visit on Nov. 17 at 9 p.m. (EST). To participate, use
hashtag #CampusChat.

For more information on saving, planning, and paying for college, visit SallieMae.com.
For official sweepstakes rules, visit Plan
for College Sweepstakes. No purchase necessary. Void where
prohibited by law.

Sallie Mae (NASDAQ: 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, 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.

Contacts

Sallie Mae
Ellen J. Roberts, 302-451-0428
Ellen.roberts@salliemae.com