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Students at a Paying for College Bus Tour stop, Reading PA

The Sallie Mae Fund Teams Up with Univision to Answer College Finance Questions through Televised Call-in Show

GRAMMY^® Award Winner Jon Secada, Financial Aid Experts Answer Calls Los Angeles

Los Angeles, Calif., April 7, 2006—The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae, and Univision 34, the Los Angeles affiliate of the Spanish–language television network, joined forces to help Latino students prepare for college in a television broadcast held April 4. GRAMMY award–winning singer, Jon Secada, personally answered a number of the 31,000 calls which came in during the broadcast.

The Sallie Mae Fund brought in 30 financial aid experts to the studio, including financial aid counselors from El Camino College, Orange Coast College, Santa Monica College and Cal State University in Long Beach, to help meet caller demand. The Fund also set up a toll–free number staffed by operators at Sallie Mae's servicing center in Killeen, Texas. During the broadcast, Univision also interviewed Sallie Mae Fund partner, Dr. Harry Pachon, of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, and Orlando Espinosa, national spokesperson for The Fund's Paying for College Bus Tour.

The Univision broadcast is part of The Sallie Mae Fund's campaign to increase access to higher education for lower–income and minority students in California. Earlier in the day, The Fund announced that half of the $1 million allocated for access initiatives in California—a full $500,000—would go toward supporting college early awareness programs in Los Angeles.

"We were delighted with the success of this partnership particularly because it suggests that there is the potential for similar partnerships with local Univision stations throughout the country," said Kathleen deLaski, president, The Sallie Mae Fund. "The Fund's research indicates that Latinos want more information about financial aid and the broadcast medium is a very powerful means of making this information available."

The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae, achieves its mission—to increase access to a post–secondary education for America's students—by supporting programs and initiatives that help open doors to higher education, prepare families for their investment, and bridge the gap when no one else can. For more information visit www.salliemaefund.org.