Introduction
Student loans are an essential part of higher education financing in the United States. Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, or Great Lakes, is one of the big loan servicers that have assisted millions of borrowers with managing their student loan debt. If you’ve ever held federal student loans, you might have dealt with Great Lakes Loans as the servicer assigned to your loans. Knowing how Great Lakes Loans operates and what strategies can help you manage your loans can help you stay current on payments, avoid default, and pay off your student debt successfully.
Here, we cover everything you need to know about Great Lakes Loans, including loan servicing, repayment, and how to effectively deal with your student debt.
What is Great Lakes Loans?
Great Lakes Educational Loan Services is a nonprofit that administers student loans for millions of borrowers in the United States. It acts as a middleman between the U.S. Department of Education and student loan borrowers, helping them navigate loans by administering payments, providing repayment strategies, and working on deferment and forbearance opportunities.
Great Lakes is a loan servicer and does not make the loans itself. Instead, they process customer service and administrative functions on federal student loans made through the Department of Education.
Essential Duties of Great Lakes Loans:
- How to manage student loan [email protected]
- Assisting borrowers with loan repayment plans
- Providing deferment and forbearance assistance
- Educating on loan forgiveness programs
- Reporting payment status to credit bureaus
Access Your Great Lakes Loans: Login Information and More
If you have a loan serviced by Great Lakes, you can start managing your student loans through their online portal.
Steps to Access Your Account:
Go to mygreatlakes. org to log into your account.
- Create an account — if you’re new: If you are using the website for the first time, you will need to sign up with your Social Security Number, date of birth and email address.
- Check Loan Information: After you log-in, you will be able to view your loan balance, interest rate, current repayment status, and payment history.
- Paying Bills: Schedule automatic payments or make sporadic payments directly on the site.
- Consider Repayment Plans: Check the repayment estimator for the best plan for your finances.
- Ask for Help: If you’re unable to pay, you can reach out to Great Lakes customer service to inquire about deferment, forbearance or loan forgiveness options.
A Complete Guide to Loan Repayment Options for Great Lakes
The biggest concern for borrowers of student loans is repayment. Fortunately, Great Lakes provides borrowers with multiple repayment plans that can make their monthly payments more manageable.
Standard Repayment Plan
- Fixed monthly payments for 10 years.
- Best for borrowers who can manage constant payments and aim to pay off loans fast.
Graduated Repayment Plan
- Payments begin lower and increase every other year.
- Best for borrowers who anticipate rising income over time.
Extended Repayment Plan
- Repayment term extended up to 25 years.
- Available for borrowers with more than $30,000 in Direct Loans
Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plans
Under these plans your monthly payments change with your income and your family size:
- Income-Based Repayment (IBR) – Monthly payments equal to 10%-15% of discretionary income.
- Pay As You Earn (PAYE) – Payments limited to 10% of income, with forgiveness after 20 years.
- Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) – Similar to PAYE but with more forgiving terms.
- Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) – Payments are the lesser of 20% of discretionary income or a fixed 12-year plan
IDR plans can be especially advantageous for borrowers that have high monthly payments relative to their income.
Loan Forgiveness and Relief Options with Great Lakes Loans
Great Lakes can help everything from student loan management to guidance on several federal programs available that would forgive some or all of your student loans if you hope to qualify.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
- For government and nonprofit employees.
- Is eligible after 120 qualifying payments under an IDR plan.
- Forgiveness of any remaining balance is tax-free.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness
- Offered to teachers in underfunded schools.
- Forgives up to $17,500 of Direct Loans after five years of service.
TPD — Total and Permanent Disability Discharge
- Waivable for borrowers who are permanently disabled
- Need to provide medical documentation or SSA (Social Security Administration) approval
Borrower Defense to Repayment
- Available in cases where your school lied to you or otherwise acted improperly.
- May result in discharge of loans or refunds.
If you believe you qualify for any of these programs, please reach out to Great Lakes for help with the application process.
What to Do If Your Loans Are Transferred Away from Great Lakes
The U.S. Department of Education occasionally moves loan servicing from one servicer to another. If your loans do get transferred from Great Lakes to another servicer, here’s what you should do:
- Verify New Loan Servicer You will be notified of the transfer. You can also visit studentaid. gov for updated information about servicers.
- Set Up an Account With the New Servicer: After your loans are transferred, set up an account with your new servicer.
- Verify Loan Information: Make sure that your loan balance, payment history, and repayment plan are unchanged.
- Update Your Auto-Pay Details: If you had auto-pay in place with Great Lakes, you’ll need to re-enroll with the new servicer
- Keep an Eye on Your Credit Report: Make sure the reporting during the transition isn’t erroneous
How to Successfully Manage Your Great Lakes Loans
Set Up Automatic Payments: Signing up for auto-pay could earn you a 0.25% interest rate reduction.
- Make Extra Payments — Paying more than the minimum can shorten the duration of your loan and decrease your principal.
- Explore Forgiveness Options Early: If you work in public service, get to know how to track qualifying payments as soon as possible.
- Stay alert for loan servicing transitions: Follow the news for announcements regarding servicer transitions.
- Reach Out to Customer Support if Needed: If you’re having a hard time keeping up, Great Lakes offers options for deferment and forbearance, which will temporarily stop payments altogether.
Conclusion
Great Lakes Loans is a very important operation to help borrowers manage their student debt efficiently. Nov 9, 2022Whether you’re anticipating your first bill soon or already know the ins and outs of your account, getting a grip on repayments (or potentially finding loan forgiveness) will keep the cost of your education as low as possible.
If Great Lakes is your loan servicer, it’s important to be proactive in your repayment strategy. Whether you need help making regular payments, qualify for loan forgiveness, or are navigating through financial hardships, Great Lakes has a wide array of tools and resources designed to help borrowers on their student loan journey.
For more information, go to mygreatlakes. org or visit studentaid. gov.
