Attention High School Students: One Week Left to Enter Sallie Mae’s ‘Make College Happen Challenge’
Enter by Dec. 15 for a Chance to Win Up to $10,000 for Most
Creatively Expressed Paying-for-College Plans
NEWARK, Del.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sallie Mae, the nation’s saving, planning, and paying for college
company, is asking students how they plan to pay for college in the “Make
College Happen Challenge” – and the company will award a total of
nearly $25,000 to the 10 high school students who submit the most
creative descriptions of their plans. With the Dec. 15 deadline for
entries fast approaching, now’s the time to submit an entry.
“To make college happen, you need a plan, and sometimes you need to
think creatively to transform that plan into reality,” said Martha
Holler, senior vice president, Sallie Mae. “This contest encourages
creativity, not just in the plans themselves but also in how students
describe their plans. No form of creative expression is off-limits, and
we’ll accept videos, photos, songs, essays, and poems. In fact, we’ve
already received at least one entry in the form of a rap song.”
Here is what you need to know about the “Make
College Happen Challenge:”
-
Prizes: $10,000 first-place prize, $5,000 second-place prize,
$2,500 third-place prize, and seven $1,000 prizes. -
Eligibility: Open to students throughout the U.S. between the
ages of 14 and 18. -
How to enter: Register for the Challenge at MakeCollegeHappenChallenge.com.
Entering is free. One entry per person is permitted. -
How winners will be chosen: Judges will select 10 finalists on
the basis of the entry’s creativity, how effectively its message is
communicated, and the feasibility and practicality of the plan. Then,
the 10 finalists’ entries will be posted to MakeCollegeHappenChallenge.com,
and the public will be able to vote for their favorites online. The
online voting results will be combined with the judges’ scores to
determine the first-place, second-place, and third-place winners. -
Timing: Registration opened on Oct. 15, and entries must be
received by 5 p.m. (EST) on Dec. 15. Online voting will be available
for a week in February 2016. The winners will be announced in March
2016.
Sallie Mae is conducting the “Make College Happen Challenge” in
partnership with By
Kids For Kids®, a national organization that provides
free educational resources for students in kindergarten through 12th
grade.
“Helping students achieve the dream of a college education is integral
to our mission of providing young people with the skills they need to
compete in a 21st century economy,” said Norman Goldstein, CEO and
founder, By Kids For Kids. “We are proud to partner with Sallie Mae to
help students and families make college happen.”
Sallie Mae offers a number of free planning-for-college tools, including
the College
Planning Calculator and Scholarship
Search by Sallie Mae. The company recommends students and families
follow its 1-2-3 approach to paying for college: first, maximize money
that does not need to be repaid, such as scholarships and grants;
second, explore federal student loans; and, third, consider a
responsible private education loan.
For more information about the contest, visit www.MakeCollegeHappenChallenge.com.
For contest rules, visit www.MakeCollegeHappenChallenge.com/rules.
About By Kids For Kids
By Kids For Kids® (BKFK) is an agency that empowers youth
invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship. BKFK provides a unique
platform for kids and teens to develop and showcase their ideas,
inventions, and entrepreneurship. The company provides free educational
resources, including curricula and challenges that promote social
change, product innovation, and entrepreneurial endeavors. Learn more: www.bkfk.com.
About Sallie Mae
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
Rick Castellano, 302-451-2541
rick.castellano@salliemae.com
or
By
Kids For Kids
Judy Klym, 203-921-9039
Judy@bkfk.com
