Navigating Your Federal Student Loan History: A Guide to Great Lakes Loans in 2025
Introduction Great Lakes Loans, operated by Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc., played a significant role in managing federal student loans for millions of borrowers in the United States over the past decade. While Great Lakes did not lend the money itself, it was responsible for handling payments, repayment plans, deferments, and customer support for various types of federal student loans. In this guide, we will cover what Great Lakes Loans are, their services, and what has changed for borrowers in 2025.
What Are Great Lakes Loans? Great Lakes Loans refer to federal student loans that were serviced by Great Lakes Educational Loan Services. The company managed payments, repayment plans, deferments, and customer support for borrowers of various types of federal student loans, including:
- Direct Subsidized Loans
- Direct Unsubsidized Loans
- PLUS Loans (for graduate students and parents)
- Consolidation Loans
How to Manage Great Lakes Loans Previously, borrowers could manage their loans through an easy-to-use online portal, where they could check their 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.
