Summer is the perfect time for your clients to have the “college” talk with their children: What school would they like to attend, what do they want to study, and how much will it cost?

This talk is vitally important because a college education is seen by many as the gateway to the American Dream.

For many years, Sallie Mae, the nation’s saving, planning, and paying-for-college company, has made that dream of higher education a reality for millions of students and families. More families choose Sallie Mae to fund their education than any other private student lender. After all, Let’s Make College Happen is more than the company’s tagline: It reflects its commitment to students and families nationwide.

Reflecting this commitment, Sallie Mae has created a “Countdown to College Guide,” which provides a calendar of events that junior and senior students can use when applying for college. To view this calendar, visit www.naifa.org/NAIFA/media/PDE/prdoc/SM_CountdowntoCollege.pdf.

Here are other valuable Sallie Mae resources to help students and families make college happen:

• A range of FDIC-insured savings products, including SmartyPig® and other goal-based savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit.  In addition, Upromise® by Sallie Mae provides financial rewards on everyday purchases to help families save for college.
• A variety of free online tips, tools, and resources that help families plan for college, including Scholarship Search, which offers access to million scholarships worth billions. Students register (free of charge), fill out a brief profile, and receive matches that identify relevant scholarships and their award amounts, application requirements, and deadlines. The tool automatically sends updates when it identifies new matches.
• Private student loans for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as the Sallie Mae Parent LoanSM.
• Free online budgeting tools and information about how to manage student loan payments and other types of credit, such as Understanding Credit, a handbook published by Sallie Mae and FICO®.

Sallie Mae’s research finds that nearly nine in 10 American families expect from as early as preschool that their child will go to college. But only four in 10 families have a plan to pay for college. For many, the greatest obstacle is just getting started.

That’s why Sallie Mae and NAIFA have formed a partnership to provide free tools and resources to NAIFA members to help their clients make informed decisions and get them on the right track to saving, planning, and ultimately, responsibly paying for college.

To access these free college-planning tools, including Scholarship Search by Sallie Mae, visit http://www.naifa.org/practice-resources/prp/college-planning-with-sallie-mae.