Last Updated on July 29, 2023
If you are in college and want to take out a student loan, you probably want to get it done as quickly as possible. There are several different types of loans, with different requirements and interest rates. You can get a loan for just about anything—from school supplies to housing expenses.
The easiest way to apply for a student loan is online. This article will help you understand the process so that you can get started on your next step toward financial independence!
First, let’s look at some basic facts about student loans:
-Student loans are available from the government and private lenders. When you apply for a loan, there are some things that you should know before submitting an application:
-Federal loans have lower interest rates than private loans do; however, because they are subsidized by taxpayers’ money, they can only be used for specific purposes—such as tuition costs or living expenses on campus (such as rent).
-On the other hand, private loans have higher interest rates than federal ones do; however, these types of loans may be used for more than just tuition costs or living expenses on campus (such as rent). This means that they may be
Apply For Student Loans Great Lakes
How to Make Great Lakes Payments
Great Lakes allows you to make payments in several different ways:
- Mobile app: If you download the MyGreatLakes app (Apple App Store and Google Play), you can make payments from your smartphone.
- Mail: If you prefer to make your payments via check, you can mail your payments to Great Lakes. However, the mailing address depends on where you live, so log in to your account to find out where you should mail your check.
- Online: You can pay your monthly bill online.
To make online payments, follow these simple steps:
1. Create an Account on MyGreatLakes.org
To sign up for an account, click on “Sign Up” on the top right of the screen at MyGreatLakes.org. Then, enter your Social Security number and birth date. The site will prompt you to create a username, password, and PIN number.
2. Select Your Loan Account
Once your account is verified, you can select your loan account and schedule a payment. You can decide to make a one-time payment, or set up recurring automatic payments. If you can, automatic payments are a good idea. When you enroll in autopay, you’ll get a 0.25% interest rate discount for your direct loan.
When it comes to your student loan payments, there are rules that apply to all student loan servicers. All outstanding interest and fees, if applicable, must be paid first, before the servicer can put any of your payment toward the principal.
If you make extra payments, the excess is automatically applied to the accrued interest since your last payment. If there is any money left over, it’s applied to the principal of the loan with the highest interest rate. If you’d prefer the excess be applied to a different loan, you can change your preferences online under your account Excess Payment Preferences.
About Great Lakes Educational Loan Services
Great Lakes Educational Services has been in business for more than 50 years, and has a “B-” rating with the Better Business Bureau. It is worth noting that critics have argued that there’s an inherent conflict of interest when a ratings organization such as the Better Business Bureau receives revenue primarily from the businesses that it grades, which opens the door for those ratings to be suspect.
Complaints
Great Lakes is a large servicer and has experienced some issues over the years. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) 2020 Student Loan Ombudsman Report, the CFPB handled 3,600 federal student loan complaints between September 2019, and August 2020. Approximately 1% of those complaints were about Great Lakes, making it one of the less-complained about federal loan servicers.
Class Action
In May 2020, the Student Borrower Protection Center filed a class-action lawsuit against Great Lakes, Equifax, TransUnion, Experian, and VantageScore. The lawsuit alleges that Great Lakes mishandled CARES Act pandemic relief efforts by illegally providing inaccurate information about millions of its customers to Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian—the three major credit bureaus—damaging borrowers’ credit.
Great Lakes is one of the companies named in a class-action lawsuit. The suit alleges that Great Lakes mishandled CARES pandemic relief efforts by illegally providing inaccurate information to the major credit bureaus, damaging student loan borrowers’ credit reports.