Great Lakes Educational Loan Services

Be aware! Pay from your account! If someone else pays the loan for you and you give them the money you're basically **! They send your refund back to that person even if it's a stranger with another name. I now have an order of protection against that person and they refuse to send my money to an account with my name.

I've dealt with them in the past for trying to pay ahead on the loans. The customer service isn't really knowledgeable about the process as I asked for the pay off amount for a specific loan under their name and they gave me an amount that overpaid by several hundred dollars. It forced me to pay my loans slightly faster, but that's not what I requested. I wanted to know the pay off amount and received incorrect information. It left me with the impression they don't actually care about you paying off loans, but rather, continuing to pay them so they can make whatever commission fees they do.

Great Lakes has been great at helping me consolidate and get back on track with my loan. They really helped me understand payment options and accruals. They also communicate changes in government regulations and deferral periods well.

Great Lakes is a wonderful company. The customer service is excellent and they try really hard to help you get your loan down. But still the last 4 years the APR for the loans has been extremely high and I wish there was a way to combine loans and get a lower rate without going private and to stay with Great Lakes. Should the possibility of student loan forgiveness become available it would only be for those who have government backed loans not private ones. Right now is a great time to get a lower rate but again that would mean going private and risk losing out if there is loan forgiveness.

They worked with me in trying the best way possible to pay these loans back. They went through each option and explained each one thoroughly. Also they give me my best option to pay back and called and emailed all this information.

Must know the long loan ID number to log in. Have to reference it every time. Clear and simple web page design. Payment notifications are timely. I am overall sickened by the interest rate for grad school loans. It is robbery and negatively influences people’s decision whether to purpose advanced degrees or not.

They bug you before you graduate. I am not finished my degree and already getting letters, emails and phone calls before I finish. I do not think this is good practice for them to be doing to students. I have not secured a job yet.

I find the company to be helpful and they explain everything in detail until you fully understand. They are very polite and helpful to clients. They make the process easy and more manageable for the layman.

Very helpful knowledgeable staff. Kept me updated on every way to extend, save, waive or pay down loan. Easy payment remittance, kept me updated on balances, tax info. Made tax forms available and completed for accounting.

I was overwhelmed by the student loan debt and how I could possibly pay it back. I had no income and was using up savings. Finally it came to light that I had some long-term medical issues that would prevent me from working in my chosen field. I qualified for Disability from Social Security. As a result, Nelnet took over the loan and then forgave it; I had to submit a copy of the disability determination letter from Social Security to get that dispensation. BTW I disliked the interface system for Great Lakes. It just wasn't very direct or timely.