MyGreatLakes marks its student loans with individual payment reference numbers rather than typical account numbers. A payment reference number is a 15-digit code that is stamped on your Great Lakes account statement.
For federal student loans, the only way to get a really lower interest rate is to complete the student loan consolidation with a private lender like SoFi or Earnest. Lowering fees is good, but don’t risk giving the entire authority to the federal student loans.
The easiest way to make a payment is to pay online at the official portal of the MyGreatLakes at www.mygreatlakes.org. There are two ways to make payments: one-time payment or automatic payment. The significant advantage of registering for automatic payment is that you will be entitled to a 0.25% reduction in interest rates.
I think this reduction is handy if you are making an attempt to pay off your loans as early as possible. But what if you have an income-related payment plan? This advantage should not outweigh the risk.
If you decide to go with the automatic payment mode, you authorize MyGreatLakes to withdraw funds from your account multiple times, regardless of the amount of your monthly payment.
Along with the online payment mode, you can also cleat all your payments by mail. There are two different addresses for federal loan payments to the MyGreatLakes:
Direct loans. Payments for loans from the Ministry of Education serviced by the MyGreatLakes should be dispatched to the following address:
Great Lakes,
US Department of Education,
The USA, PO Box 790321,
St. Louis, MO 63179-0321
Thus, if you are a student who is striving to achieve success, but in a dilemma due to lack of financial resources, MyGreatLakes portal is for you.