Sallie Mae Family Scholarship Program
Sallie Mae has established a scholarship program to assist employees’ children who plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs. Renewable scholarships are offered each year for full-time study at an accredited institution of the student’s choice.
Sallie Mae Family Scholarship Program
Sallie Mae has established a scholarship program to assist employees’ children who plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs. Renewable scholarships are offered each year for full-time study at an accredited institution of the student’s choice.
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
Eligibility
Applicants of the Sallie Mae Family Scholarship Program must be:
- Dependent* children of full-time or part-time (24 hours/week or more) Sallie Mae employees who have a minimum of one year of employment with the company as of the application deadline date.
- *Dependent children are defined as natural and legally adopted children or stepchildren of the employee who qualify for benefits provided by Sallie Mae.
- High school seniors or graduates or current college undergraduates or graduate level students.
- Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate or graduate study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university, or vocational-technical school for the entire upcoming academic year.
Children of officers or members of the Board of Directors of Sallie Mae and/or its subsidiaries are ineligible.
Awards
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $5,000 award. Up to ten (10) awards will be granted each year.
Awards may be renewed for up to three (3) additional years* or until a degree or certificate is earned, whichever occurs first. Renewal is contingent upon satisfactory academic performance in full-time study, continued employment of the student’s parent with the company, and continuation of the program by Sallie Mae. Students whose parents’ jobs were terminated, subject to the terms of a severance agreement between the parent and Sallie Mae, will continue to be eligible for renewal as long as the student remains in good standing.
*Students may remain eligible for renewal provided the student has continuous schooling (no breaks) when moving from undergraduate degree to graduate degree.
Awards are for undergraduate or graduate study.
Notification
Applicants will be notified in March. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. Students not selected as recipients may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements.
Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.
Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address as safe senders in your email contact list.
Payment of Scholarships
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of Sallie Mae. Payments are made in one installment early August.
Selection of Recipients
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
- Academic performance
- Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
- Work experience
- A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
- Unusual personal or family circumstances
- An online recommendation
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of Sallie Mae play a part in the selection. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Requirements
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
- A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
- Student name
- School name
- Grades
- Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.
NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.
One online recommendation form must be submitted on your behalf no later than January 21, 2026 3:00p.m. Central Time.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
