Great Lakes Loans: What Borrowers Need to Know in 2025

If you’ve taken out a federal student loan in the U.S. over the past decade, you’ve likely come across Great Lakes Loans. As one of the major student loan servicers, Great Lakes helped manage millions of federal student loan accounts on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education.

In this guide, we’ll quickly cover what Great Lakes Loans are, their services, and what’s changed for borrowers in 2025.

📌 What Are Great Lakes Loans?

Great Lakes Loans refer to federal student loans serviced by Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc.. While Great Lakes didn’t lend the money themselves, they managed payments, repayment plans, deferments, and customer support for federal student loan borrowers.

They handled several types of loans, including:

Direct Subsidized Loans

Direct Unsubsidized Loans

PLUS Loans (for graduate students and parents)

Consolidation Loans

📌 How to Manage Great Lakes Loans

Borrowers previously managed their loans through an easy-to-use online portal. Through this platform, you could check your loan balance, make payments, download tax documents, and apply for repayment plans or deferment options.

Today, while most active loans have been transferred to other servicers like Nelnet, you can still access historical account information and important records through the official Great Lakes Loans website.

📌 Is Great Lakes Still Servicing Loans?

As of 2025, the U.S. Department of Education has reassigned many of its loan servicing contracts, including those held by Great Lakes. Most borrowers have seen their accounts moved to other servicers.

However, if your loans were previously with Great Lakes, you can still log in to retrieve past payment records, tax forms, and account history.

If you’re unsure about your current loan servicer, you can verify this information via the Federal Student Aid website or by checking your original account.

📌 Available Repayment Options

When Great Lakes actively serviced loans, borrowers could choose from several federal repayment plans, including:

Standard Repayment

Graduated Repayment

Extended Repayment

Income-Driven Repayment Plans (IDR)

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligibility support

These programs remain available through your new loan servicer if your account was transferred.

📌 Why It Matters

Even if your loans are no longer with Great Lakes, it’s important to keep track of your old records. Payment histories and tax documents might still be needed for financial planning or future loan forgiveness applications.

The original Great Lakes portal remains a helpful resource for accessing this information if needed.

📌 Final Thoughts

Great Lakes Loans played a key role in helping federal student loan borrowers stay organized and on track. While servicing responsibilities have shifted, knowing where to access your past loan data is still valuable.

If you haven’t already, visit the official website to review your account details and confirm your current loan servicer.

📌 Why It Matters

Even if your loans are no longer with Great Lakes, it’s important to keep track of your old records. Payment histories and tax documents might still be needed for financial planning or future loan forgiveness applications.

The original Great Lakes portal remains a helpful resource for accessing this information if needed.

📌 Final Thoughts

Great Lakes Loans played a key role in helping federal student loan borrowers stay organized and on track. While servicing responsibilities have shifted, knowing where to access your past loan data is still valuable.

If you haven’t already, visit the official website to review your account details and confirm your current loan servicer.