What Is a Student Loan Servicer?
Most federal student loans today are direct loans. This means that the money comes straight from the Department of Education, rather than a private lender acting on behalf of the federal government. However, the Department of Education can’t manage these student loans all by itself.
In order to make sure that borrowers are paying back their student loans and having their requests and comments processed in a timely manner, the Department of Education works with several companies known as “student loan servicers.” Student loan servicers are responsible for collecting student loan payments from borrowers and managing the student loan debt under their care. Here are some services that your student loan servicer will provide:
- Managing borrower information. Student loan servicers will process changes to personal information, such as name, address, or phone number after you request them.
- Repayment plans. Processing requests to move your loan over to a new repayment plan, such as an income-driven repayment plan that you might use for student loan forgiveness.
- Student loan consolidation. Your student loan servicer will handle your requests to consolidate your student loans.
It’s important to note that your student loan servicer is the only entity authorized to act on these things for you, and they will provide these services free of charge. If someone else contacts you saying that they can change your repayment plan or consolidate your loans for a lower interest rate, then odds are that you are being targeted by a student loan scam.
Who Is My Student Loan Servicer?
You do not get to choose your loan servicer. Instead, one will be assigned to you out of the pool of loan servicing companies that the Department of Education works with. You will be assigned your loan servicer after you receive your first federal student loan. The four most common student loan services are FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA), Great Lakes, Navient (which has been in the news recently because of a major lawsuit) and Nelnet. However, there are other smaller student loan services out there as well. The full list of student loan servicers and how to contact them can be viewed below.
How To Find Your Student Loan Servicer
If you are unsure about who your student loan servicer is, you can view all the relevant information about your student loans and who services them through the official Federal Student Aid portal managed by the Department of Education.
Sometimes you may be transferred to a different loan servicer in order to balance the student debt load between all existing student loan servicing companies. In this case, you will receive a welcome letter from your new servicer including their contact information, and how you can change your payments so that they reach the new servicer. Being transferred to a new servicer will have no effect on the amount of your student loan payments, or your student loan terms.
Federal Student Loan Servicing Companies: Who They Are & How To Contact Them
Below are all of the student loan servicers that work with the Department of Education. If you have private student loans, then you probably will not recognize these companies. However, if you have federal student loans, you will be able to recognize your student loan servicer on the list below and find their contact information including their website, phone number, email address, and mailing address.
CornerStone
Website:https://www.mycornerstoneloan.org/Phone Number:
1-800-663-1662
Email Address: [email protected]
Mailing Address:
CornerStone
P.O. Box 145122
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-5122
Debt Management and Collections System
Website:https://myeddebt.ed.gov/Phone Number:
1-800-433-3243
Email Address: Website Form
Mailing Address:
U.S. Department of Education
PO Box 5609
Greenville, TX 75403-5609
FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA)
Website:https://myfedloan.org/Phone Number:
1-800-699-2908
Email Address: Through website. Only accessible to borrowers who have an account with FedLoan Servicing.
Mailing Address:
FedLoan Servicing
P.O. Box 69184
Harrisburg, PA 17106-9184
Granite State (GSMR)
Website:https://www.gsmr.org/Phone Number:
888-556-0022
Email Address: Website Form
Mailing Address:
Granite State Management & Resources
P.O. Box 3420
Concord, NH 03302-3420
Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc.
Website:https://mygreatlakes.org/Phone Number:
800-236-4300
Email Address: Website Form
Mailing Address:
Great Lakes
PO Box 7860
Madison, WI 53707-7860
HESC/EdFinancial
Website:https://edfinancial.com/Phone Number:
1-855-337-6884
Email Address: Website Form
Mailing Address:
Edfinancial Services
P.O. Box 36008
Knoxville, TN 37930-6008
MOHELA
Website:https://www.mohela.com/Phone Number:
888-866-4352
Email Address: Through website. Only accessible to borrowers who have an account with MOHELA.
Mailing Address:
MOHELA
633 Spirit Drive
Chesterfield, MO 63005-1243
Navient
Website:https://www.navient.com/Phone Number:
800-722-1300
Email Address: Through website. Only accessible to borrowers who have an account with Navient.
Mailing Address:
Navient U.S. Department of Education Loan Servicing
P.O. Box 9635
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18773-9635
Nelnet
Website:https://www.nelnet.com/Phone Number:
888-486-4722
Email Address: Website Form
Mailing Address:
Nelnet
P.O. Box 82561
Lincoln, NE 68501-2561
OSLA Servicing
Website:https://public.osla.org/Phone Number:
405-556-9200
Email Address: Through website. Only accessible to borrowers who have an account with OSLA Servicing.
Mailing Address:
Oklahoma Student Loan Authority
525 Central Park Drive, Suite 600
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
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