You may have a plan to apply for a student loan in Great Lakes. But wait, before you do that, you have to make sure that you know everything including about the interest rate of student loans in Great Lakes.
The Interest Rate on Great Lakes Student Loans
According to the Chipper site, here is the explanation about interest rate on Great Lakes Student Loans.
It is explained that the interest on your student loan depends on the current federal student loan rates. For your information, Federal loan interest rates can range from 3.73% to 6.28%. You can compare it with private student loan interest rates when you may have to pay between 1.49% to 12.99%, depending on if it is a fixed or variable loan. Federal student loan interest rates are fixed. It means that the amount will not increase or decrease in the lifetime of the debt.
You are able to check the information below for rates.
- Loan Type: Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans
Borrower: Undergraduate students
Fixed Interest Rate: 0.0373
Loan Fee: 1.057% for loans first disbursed on or after October 1, 2020, and before October 1, 2022. - Loan Type: Direct Unsubsidized Loans
Borrower: Graduate or professional students
Fixed Interest Rate: 0.0528
Loan Fee: 1.057% for loans first disbursed on or after October 1, 2020, and before October 1, 2022. - Loan Type: Direct Plus Loans
Borrower: Parents and graduate or professional students
Fixed Interest Rate: 0.0628
Loan Fee: 4.228% for loans first disbursed on or after October 1, 2020, and before October 1, 2022.
According to the My Great Lakes site, here is the explanation about your estimated new interest rate. It is explained that the interest rate on a Direct Consolidation loan utilizes the weighted average interest rate from the loans that you want to consolidate. Here are the six steps to estimate the weighted average interest rate according to the My Great Lakes.
Example:
- You have to multiply each loan amount by its interest rate to get the ‘per loan weight factor’.
Loan 1: $10,000 x 6.8% = 680
Loan 2: $2,000 x 3.8% = 76 - You have to add the per loan weight factors together.
680 + 76 = 756 - You need to add the loan amounts together.
$10,000 + $2,000 = $12,000 - You must divide the ‘total per loan weight factor’ by the ‘total loan amount’ and then you must multiply by 100 to calculate the weighted average.
(756 / 12,000) x 100
or 0.063 x 100 = 6.3% - Now, you have to round the result from the step 4 above to the nearest higher one-eight of one percent if it is not already on an eighth of a percent.
Round 6.3 up to 6.375 - Save
You have to sign up for Auto Pay. My Great Lakes free electronic monthly payment service, and your lender (the U.S. Department of Education) will give you a 0.25% interest rate reduction.
After you sign up for Auto Pay for free, then you have to reduce your interest rate by 0.25, or to 6.125 in this example.
The Ways to Make Monthly Loan Payments to Great Lakes
According to the Credible site, here are the ways to make monthly loan payments to Great Lakes.
- You are able to pay with a check or money order through snail mail.
- You are also able to pay through the phone. You can speak to a representative during business hours or you are able to use the automated system at any time.
- If you prefer to use a computer, you are able to access the official website of the Great Lakes to make payments. On their website, you are able to make payments with a debit card, and if you want, you are also able to pay via the mobile app.
Some Tips to Have The Best Borrowing Experience in Great Lakes
According to the Credible site, here are the tips for having the best borrowing experience in the Great Lakes.
- You have to take advantage of Great Lakes’ online tools. There are a lot of federal repayment options and it can be overwhelming. However, with Great Lakes, they have built a Repayment Planner to make the choice easier because they know that borrowers are able to struggle to choose the right repayment option. With the Repayment Planner, you can see the potential impact of each program your loan is eligible for, including how your length of repayment and interest paid will change. The Repayment Planned can be accessed by logging into your Great Lakes online account.
- You have to start paying as soon as possible. Student loan repayment may be far from your mind when you are in school. However, it can be a good idea to begin to think about it early. With Great Lakes, you are able to begin to make payments while you are still in school so that it can give you a valuable head start. Most loans begin generating interest even while you are in school, unless you have a subsidized loan. So, if you start repayment early, even in small payments, you are able to cut down on the total interest that accrues and get you closer to paying off your loan principal.
- You have to leverage Great Lakes customer support. Are you struggling to make your monthly payments or do you want to talk through all of your options with someone who is knowledgeable on the topic? If so, you are able to contact Great Lakes customer support. For getting help, you do not need to pay it with your student loans. The Great Lakes team is able to help you understand and decide on federal student loan consolidation, payment plans, service member benefits and more. Besides, you do not need to call or email for support because Great Lakes also offers help through Facebook and Twitter. If you have a quick question, but you do not have the time to pick up the phone, contacting them via Facebook or Twitter can be a great option.
