Upromise by Sallie Mae Teams Up with Academy Award Winning Actress and Mother of Four Mira Sorvino t

Upromise by Sallie Mae Teams Up with Academy Award Winning Actress and Mother of Four Mira Sorvino to Inspire Families to Save for College

Take the Pledge to Save and Enter to Win a $150,000 Full Ride to College

NEWARK, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- According to a recent study, Oct. 5 is the most common birthday in America with approximately 13,000 babies born on this day each year and 1 million people sharing this birthday. As these children enter the world, the cost of a college education is expected to nearly triple over the next 18 years. Upromise by Sallie Mae has teamed up with Academy Award winning actress and mother of four Mira Sorvino to remind both these expanding families and families nationwide about the importance of planning for the future and saving for college.

John Ward, senior vice president, Sallie Mae and Academy Award Winning Actress Mira Sorvino attend the Make The Pledge, Keep The Promise College Savings Luncheon, held at the Benjamin Hotel in New York City, Thursday, October 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Jennifer Graylock)

"My education at Harvard was a turning point in my life. The experience I gained there has allowed me to channel my passion for children and social justice causes into advocacy that is extremely meaningful to me. Now that I'm a mom to two daughters and two sons, I can't emphasize the importance of education enough," says Sorvino. "Making a personal pledge and starting to save can ensure your children have the brightest future possible. Upromise by Sallie Mae makes it easy to save each and every day."

Now through Nov. 13, Americans who join the millions of Upromise members saving for college are eligible to win the "Make the Pledge, Keep the Promise" full ride to college $150,000 scholarship. Upromise members have already saved $700 million for college and are marching towards a collective goal of $1 billion for higher education. In addition, each week for eight weeks Upromise by Sallie Mae will give away $500 gift cards from major online retailers such as Macy's, Walmart, and Travelocity.

To enter, simply sign up to take the pledge to save for college at Upromise.com or the Upromise Facebook page. Families have the option to upload and share a photo of their future graduate. Members can also gain unlimited entries every time they shop online at Upromise.com. There is no purchase required to enter.

"In collaboration with Mira Sorvino we hope to inspire more American families to make their own pledge to save for college," said John Ward, senior vice president, Sallie Mae. "Our members tell us they love that our Upromise program is more rewarding than ever and we make it easy to save early and often to prepare for higher education."

New this year, Upromise members can now earn cash back rewards of 5 percent or more from eligible online purchases at hundreds of popular online retailers. Families who choose the new Upromise World Mastercard as their payment method of choice can save double—for a total of 10 percent or more cash back on those online purchases. In addition, members can earn cash for college by dining out, booking travel, buying gas and purchasing other services. Members can use their earnings in one of four ways: transfer into 529 college savings plans administered by Upromise Investments, pay down an eligible Sallie Mae-serviced student loan, deposit into an FDIC-insured Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account offered through Sallie Mae Bank, or request a check. Learn more or join for free at www.Upromise.com.

Join the conversation on how to save, plan and pay for college at Facebook.com/SallieMae and Facebook.com/Upromise.

Sallie Mae (NAS: SLM) is the nation's No. 1 financial services company specializing in education. Whether college is a long way off or just around the corner, Sallie Mae turns education dreams into reality for its 25 million customers. With products and services that include 529 college savings plans, Upromise rewards, scholarship search tools, education loans, insurance, and online banking, Sallie Mae offers solutions that help families save, plan, and pay for college. Sallie Mae also provides financial services to hundreds of college campuses as well as to federal and state governments. 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.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50432387〈=en

Sallie Mae
Media contact:
Debby Hohler, 617-454-6741
dhohler@upromise.com

KEYWORDS: United States North America Delaware

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