2020 presented many challenges to everyone — from battling the COVID-19 pandemic to addressing deep racial inequities that exist in our nation.

As part of its core operations, Sallie Mae® worked to alleviate the economic pressure caused by the pandemic and is making contributions toward the shared goal of closing the racial achievement gap. Sallie Mae’s commitment to powering confidence is not just good for business. It’s good for everyone.

Here’s how Sallie Mae helped increase access and opportunity through higher education in 2020:

Powering Community

The Sallie Mae Fund committed $4.5 million in scholarships and grants to promote diversity in higher education and advance social justice. This included a $3 million scholarship program with Thurgood Marshall College Fund to provide scholarships help minority students access higher education and complete their post-secondary programs.

In addition to scholarship support, Sallie Mae put $2.2 million toward charitable contributions in 2020. The Sallie Mae Fund contributed $1 million to local food banks where team members live, work, and serve. This contribution resulted in 2 million pounds of food, 900,000 meals, and personal protective equipment for food bank staff and volunteers.

Sallie Mae employees play a critical part in our efforts to power local communities. As protests and demonstrations led many local businesses in Delaware to board up their storefronts, Sallie Mae team member Jannah Williams partnered with local artists to turn boarded up storefronts into inspirational canvases. Her mural addressed our nation’s history of racial injustice and combined a collection of newspaper articles covering racism over the last two hundred years with images of civil rights leaders and the simple message: “We just want a kinder world than this.”

Powering Customers

As a leader in private student lending, we work hard to help students and families more easily access and complete higher education, and we provide a number of free tools to help them achieve that. In the 2019-2020 academic year, more than 24,000 students reported receiving at least one scholarship via our free scholarship search tool, covering $67 million in college costs. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sallie Mae also offered tailored relief programs to give customers the ability to pause student loan payments.

We also recommend students and families use our 1-2-3 approach to paying for college — first scholarships and grants, then federal student loans, and finally private student loans to fill the remaining gap. And year after year, our fair and responsible approach to lending works. On average approximately 2% of our loans in repayment default annually.

Powering Team Members

Sallie Mae’s mission-driven approach extends beyond the students we support — it applies to our team members, as well. We strive to maintain a diverse and inclusive workplace, which is made possible by team members who actively listen and learn from another. To that end, we launched Diversity and Inclusion listening tours in 2020 to provide team members with a safe space to explore discussions about race, gender, identity, religion, age and background. Hundreds participated in these virtual discussions, which sparked conversations with leadership and team members for the remainder of the year.

Powering the Environment

Higher education is not our only priority at Sallie Mae — managing our environmental impact is also top of mind. From upgrading our facilities to reducing energy usage, to reducing our carbon footprint by migrating to cloud servers, we were able to reduce our energy expense in the office by 10%. We also reduced our paper usage and waste by 60% last year.

We’re helping our customers go green, too, with our transition to electronic statements. By the end of 2020, 88% of our customers opted out of paper statements and into the greener option of electronic statements.

Click here to view the full CSR report. 

The ‘college talk’ should include how to pay for it

College acceptance letters have been delivered to millions of students across the nation. As students weigh their options, they’ll consider campus life and academic quality, but one critical factor in choosing the right college is often rushed at this most consequential moment: how to pay for it.

Even though paying for college represents one of the first significant financial commitments a young person will make, many don’t have comprehensive discussions about how to manage that cost. According to a 2020 survey conducted by Ipsos and Sallie Mae®, 90% of families have discussions about college, but only two-thirds of families actually discuss the financial logistics.

The survey also found that those who plan ahead for college are three times more likely to feel confident about how they will afford it. This is one of the many reasons why Sallie Mae encourages students to discuss their options early and provides free tools to help students and their families navigate the college decision — and financing — process.

Ask questions about the financing process

The college process is constantly changing, and family members and other trusted adults who are looking at financing options with a student might be surprised. What they may recall from their own experiences — whether a few years ago or a few decades ago — has likely changed. An early start will give everyone the time and space to weigh all options.

The best way to begin is by asking questions — and getting answers — about your specific needs. Having a plan will allow you to compare financial aid offers and factor scholarships and grants into your financing formula. Just as important is considering the additional costs beyond tuition. Room and board, books, computers, and transportation can add up very quickly.  

Sallie Mae suggests a three-step approach to help with college financing planning:

1. Begin with money students won’t have to pay back, such as scholarships, grants, and work-study. These can become critical tools to help students and families make college more affordable because they help reduce the total price tag. Even so, it can be difficult to understand where to find them and how they fit into a student’s greater college financial plan.
   
   Sallie Mae offers a number of free tools to help students access and understand their options, including a scholarship search tool, and you don’t have to be a Sallie Mae loan customer to access them. Families should also utilize planning calculators to get a sense of the bigger paying-for-college picture. Sallie Mae’s planning calculator allows students to enter savings, scholarships, grants and loans and see the full cost of attending a school. 
   
2. Explore federal student loan options, which account for about 90% of today’s outstanding college loans. That starts with completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). Unfortunately, too many families skip the FAFSA because they think it’s too complicated or that they won’t qualify for financial aid. This oversight means potentially missing out on thousands of dollars in financial aid. 
   
3. Turn to a private student loan to fill the gap. After maximizing scholarships, grants and other federal financial aid, Sallie Mae helps students fill any financing gap by offering private student loans. Often secured with a cosigner, private student loans go through underwriting to ensure customers will be able to manage them successfully. Students and their families are encouraged to evaluate all anticipated monthly loan payments, and how much the student expects to earn in the future, before considering a private student loan.

By having the talk about how to pay for college now, students will be better prepared to make informed decisions that will serve them today and for years to come. They will enter their college years with more confidence that the financial obligations they are assuming are prudent and manageable.

It’s why Sallie Mae is working to bridge the knowledge gap in financial literacy — so students can make thoughtful decisions now that will set them up for the life they want.

FAFSA is a registered service mark of U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid

Millions of students enroll in college, vocational school, or certificate programs each year, eager to learn. Before enrolling, they face a lot of decisions, including where to attend, and how to pay for it.

Wading through the details of higher education financing choices (and forms) can be confusing, especially for first time students. Navigating the FAFSA® (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and comparing multiple financial aid offers from schools can leave many families scratching their heads, not fully aware how the decisions they make today may affect their lives tomorrow.

We get it. And it’s why Sallie Mae® has made a commitment to help students make sense of their financing options – whether or not they end up choosing to borrow from us. By helping students understand their options, we’re not only helping them make smart, thoughtful financial decisions, but also we’re powering them with confidence to achieve their goals.

Understanding Financing Helps Students Achieve Their Dreams

Helping students unlock the power of higher education begins with making it easier for families to understand the full range of financing options available before they apply for assistance and loans.

The philosophy we use to counsel these families is fairly simple:

1. Start with money you won’t have to pay back. Loans should never be the first option to pay for college. In fact, they should be the last. Students should supplement college savings and income by maximizing scholarships, grants, and work-study. After all, the best money is what you won’t have to pay back. This is why we provide a free scholarship search tool with access to hundreds of scholarships for students from all backgrounds.
2. Explore federal student loans. We encourage students to explore federal student loan options by completing the FAFSA. Too many families skip the FAFSA because of the complicated process, which means they’re potentially missing out on thousands of dollars in financial aid.
3. Consider a responsible private student loan. Sometimes, after accounting for savings, scholarships, and grants, and federal financial aid, there’s still a gap. That’s where a responsible private student loan can make sense. Often secured with a cosigner, these loans go through underwriting to ensure customers will be able to manage them successfully. Our lending philosophy also encourages students and their families to evaluate all anticipated monthly loan payments and how much the student expects to earn in the future before considering a private student loan.

This approach is working. On average approximately 2% of our loans in repayment default annually.

When our students are able to make informed decisions about financing their higher education plans, they are empowered and more likely to achieve financial independence after school. The correlation between graduating and future success is clear and unmistakable. People with a bachelor’s degree typically earn 66% more — $1 million more over their lifetime — than those with only a high school diploma.

Tools for Everyone

Earning a degree is critical to success in today’s workforce. It’s why our financial literacy products are available for free to anyone — whether they hold Sallie Mae loans or not. From planning calculators, to estimating monthly loan payments and future costs, we want smart planning and preparation to be part of every student’s higher education experience.

We’re proud of our financial products, and we’re proud of the students and families using them to achieve their dreams. Sallie Mae isn’t just financing private student loans — we’re helping create America’s future.

FAFSA is a registered service mark of U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid

Minimizing student loan debt to maximize borrowers’ long-term success

Statistics behind student loans are sobering. Today’s higher education financing system has left 44.7 million borrowers with nearly $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. On average, students took out about $28,800 each to pay for college in the 2018-2019 school year.

Going to college should not burden students or their families with loans they are not able to repay. Preventing these situations requires empowering borrowers with the information, resources, and tools needed to make smart financial decisions about higher education.

From a free scholarship search tool to partnerships that yield greater access to finances and know-how, Sallie Mae® aims to help ensure students don’t pay more for higher education than necessary, and graduate from college with only the debt they can reasonably afford to repay.

Here are three ways Sallie Mae helps students and families pay for college — without loans:

Free scholarship search tool

Before applying for loans — whether federal or private — Sallie Mae recommends every student first explore scholarships and grants. In the 2019-2020 academic year, 58% of families used scholarships to pay for college, the second largest source of funding after student loans.

Sallie Mae offers a scholarship search tool to help students find free money for college. The search tool opens doors to a variety of scholarships based on majors, locations, and even unique interests.

Financial planning resources

One of the most important, and less addressed, steps to prepare for college is making a plan for how to save and pay for it. We know that smart financial planning is key to students’ future success before, during, and after college. That’s why Sallie Mae’s mission emphasizes the value of financial literacy through its services and helps students prepare responsibly.

With this in mind, Sallie Mae offers a variety of calculators at no cost to help students and their families build their personalized college financial plan, estimate their monthly student loan payments after college, predict future college costs, understand the impact of interest on their loans, and see how much they can potentially save for the future. Importantly, these services are available to everyone — whether they have loans with Sallie Mae or not.

The Sallie Mae Fund Bridging the Dream Scholarship Program

In partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Sallie Mae launched The Sallie Mae Fund Bridging the Dream Scholarship Program in 2021, which will provide $3 million in scholarships over the next three years to support nearly 900 minority students and others from historically underserved communities in their pursuit of higher education. The program is an evolution of an initiative launched in 2015, which provided nearly $1 million to high school and graduate students to help them access higher education.

This program aims to ensure more minority, LGBTQ+, low income, and first-generation college students are able to access higher education and complete their degrees. Minority students are less likely to finish college compared to white students (47% completion rate for white students in 4 years compared to 22% and 33% completion rate for Black and Hispanic students in 4 years, respectively).

The Sallie Mae Fund Bridging the Dream Scholarship Program is part of a $4.5 million commitment made to support educational programs that advance social justice, diversity, inclusion, and equality. 

At the end of the day, financing higher education comes down to smart planning and careful preparation. Sallie Mae is committed to bridging the gap for students and their families by helping them better plan and pay for college.