Great Lakes Educational Loan Services is a student loan servicer that handles both private and federal student loans.
A loan servicer doesnt lend the money.
Instead, these organizations handle the administrative aspects of the loan for the lender.
You apply through that provider and then pay Great Lakes.
Great Lakes is a nonprofit organization that handles over $200 billion in student loans.
That makes it one of the largest loan servicers in the country.
The company also has a philanthropic arm that offers scholarships, grants and advising services to students.
How Do Great Lakes Student Loans Work?
Loan servicing can be a confusing topic.
Its somewhat analogous to a billing service.
You cant choose your student loan servicer.
This is handled by the lender.
No Interest Til Almost 2027?
What Repayment Options Does Great Lakes Offer?
Technically, private lenders dont need to offer any special terms for anyone, regardless of financial status.
Thats because youll get access to the full spectrum of federal repayment options.
The Standard Repayment Plan for federal student loans is fixed payments over a 10-year term.
Payments are recalculated annually based on family size and total income.
ThePAYE programis similar to REPAYE but aimed at people with high debt relative to their income.
The tradeoff for that protection is the fact that youll ultimately pay more on the loan.
IBR plans are intended for people with high debt-to-income ratios.
These plans always offer payments that are lower than the standard 10-year repayment terms.
IBR payments can change from year to year based on family size and income.
Any outstanding balance is forgiven after 20-25 years of repayment.
Your monthly payments on ICR plans can end up being above the Standard Repayment Plan rate.
As a tradeoff, the outstanding balance is forgiven after 25 years.
Yes, Great Lakes is legit.
Great Lakes doesntprovideloans it only services federal student loans or loans provided by private organizations.
you could also look up your information in theNational Student Loan Data System.
You pay it off!
Some federal loans may have the remaining balance forgiven after a repayment period of 20 to 25 years.
