By early April, 3.2 million college-bound high school seniors
will receive college acceptance letters and financial aid award
packages. By May, it’s decision time. Yet too few families have prepared
for this moment by having “the talk” about how they will pay for
college. According to new data from Sallie Mae and Ipsos, 42 percent of
parents of teenagers have yet to discuss paying for college.
To help, Sallie Mae introduces an online discussion guide for families
to address college costs, financial aid, the choice of a major, student
loans and who will pay for what.
“Sending a child off to college is an exciting and emotional time of
transition on its own, and even more so when you add money into the
mix,” says Martha Holler, senior vice president, Sallie Mae. “Having the
talk about how much college costs may feel difficult now, but it will
make things easier in the long run. That’s because selecting the right
school includes making an informed financial decision.”
Sallie Mae’s discussion guide addresses questions families need to ask
such as:
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What kind of college should I choose?
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How much will be the financial responsibility of the student?
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What do I have saved to contribute to college expenses?
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How much in financial aid should I expect from each school?
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How much will I need to borrow, if anything, and what type of loan
should I choose?
Families can download the free discussion guide at SallieMae.com/DiscussionGuide.
Sallie Mae (NASDAQ: 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 American families, today serving more than 25 million customers.
With products and services that include Upromise rewards, scholarship
search and planning 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.
Copyright Business Wire 2014