Sallie Mae Partners With Dee-1, the Hip-Hop Artist Behind Hit Song ‘Sallie Mae Back,’ to Help Students Pay Back Their Student Loans

Sallie Mae and Dee-1 Collaborate on ‘Pay Off Your Student Loans
Playlist’ to Help Students and Recent Graduates Understand and Manage
Student Loan Payments

Company Also Unveils New Mobile App to Help Customers Make
Payments and Manage Their Accounts from Smartphones

NEWARK, Del.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–When educator turned hip-hop artist Dee-1 finished paying off his
student loans, he celebrated by writing the hit song, “Sallie
Mae Back.” Now, the lyrical master of financial literacy is teaming
up with Sallie Mae to help students get on the right track to paying
back their student loans. And with recent graduates making their first
student loan payment this month, November was the ideal time to
officially release the “Pay Off Your Student Loans Playlist,” a set of
tips, tools, and resources from Dee-1 and Sallie Mae.

The Dee-1 and Sallie Mae collaboration on paying back student loans
comes on the heels of the recently completed “Dee-1’s
Knowledge for College” tour, presented by Sallie Mae, during which
Dee-1 and Sallie Mae visited 18 high schools in five states and awarded
a total of $95,000 in scholarships.

“Whether talking about paying back student loans or a car note, I’m
passionate about financial literacy and helping people learn through my
own personal experiences,” said Dee-1. “And the reality is, people out
there are hungry for information. They want to understand the facts when
it comes to paying back student loans and the best way to do it. That’s
why I partnered with Sallie Mae; we have that same vision and together
we can educate people and help more of them feel that joy of paying off
their student loans like I did.”

When it comes to paying back student loans and managing finances, the
following tips are at the top of Dee-1’s playlist:

Know who you owe and how much you owe.

• Understand if your loan is from Uncle Sam (the federal government) or
  Aunt Sallie (Sallie Mae or another private lender). If you are unsure,
  call your lender or check your credit
  report.
• Be responsible. Know your monthly payment amounts and due dates.

Separate your wants from your needs.

• Managing your money means managing your lifestyle.
• Prioritize payments you must make every month, and make sure your
  student loan is one of them.

Exceed your own expectations.

• Pay more than the minimum amount due each month.
• If you get a raise or tax refund, use part or all of it to increase
  your monthly loan payment.
• The faster you pay off your loan, the less you‘ll spend in the long
  run.

Confront reality.

• If you run into trouble, don’t hide from it, don’t be embarrassed by
  it, and don’t give up. Stay positive, focused, and look for solutions.
• Call your lender or touch base with your cosigner, if you have one.

Get excited about your future!

• Be passionate about managing your money wisely and effectively.
• You can’t make your student loans disappear magically overnight, but
  you can make a plan for paying them off.

“Dee-1 got our attention with ‘Sallie Mae Back’ not only because it’s a
song about a subject near and dear to our hearts, but also because the
exhilaration he expresses in the video — and in person — over paying off
his student loans is contagious,” said Martha Holler, senior vice
president, Sallie Mae. “We are delighted to work with him again to help
newly minted graduates get into the rhythm of repayment. Dee lays out
the process in steps that are direct and doable, teaching the right
moves for building a positive credit history and successfully paying
back student loans.”

In addition to Dee-1’s tips for paying back student loans, Sallie
Mae.com is a one-stop resource for straightforward, comprehensive
tools. It features a monthly budget worksheet, loan payment calculators,
and information about payment options, including the company’s Graduated
Repayment Period. The Graduated
Repayment Period allows graduates with eligible Sallie Mae loans in
good standing to make 12 months of interest-only payments before they
transition into making full principal and interest payments. Sallie Mae
customers may also be eligible to receive a 0.25
percent interest rate reduction when they enroll to make scheduled
monthly payments by automatic debit.

This week, Sallie Mae also unveiled a new mobile app — available for Apple
and Android
— to help customers manage their accounts and make payments from
smartphones. Access to loan information, including current balance,
total amount due, interest rate, and payment history, plus the ability
to make loan payments, are now all at a customer’s fingertips.

For more about Dee-1’s collaboration with Sallie Mae, watch his “Tips
for Paying Down Student Loans” video and visit www.Salliemae.com/Dee1.
For more information about saving, planning, and paying for college,
visit SallieMae.com.

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