I graduated from law school in 2003.  I took out federal loans while in law school (and while in undergrad as well).  I worked throughout and after both undergraduate and law school wound up with a total bill of approximately $60,000.  Shortly after I graduated I received a phone call regarding my federal loans.  I did not know it, and the person never identified themselves as such, but the caller was from Great Lakes.  Great Lakes convinced me to consolidate my loans at a low interest rate.  I did and immediately began repaying. 

My question is this: given that my federal loans were consolidated with Great Lakes, can I still take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program?  If the answer is no, I hope that my story will act as a cautionary tale and that others will be more alert than I was when consolidating.  Thank you.

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One month later no answer.  My guess is that I am out of luck.  Since my question may not be right for this forum, in view of the lack of answer, can anyone suggestion a more appropriate place to ask?  I have tried Great Lakes without success.  Thanks again.

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Even if you do not have a Direct Consolidation Loan that is serviced by Great Lakes you can re-consolidate your FFEL Consolidation Loan into the Direct Loan Program and start working toward public service loan forgiveness.  You do not need Great Lakes’ permission to do so, all you need to do is complete the application at loanconsolidation.ed.gov and select IBR as your repayment plan when you consolidate.  That being said, you need to make 10-year’s worth of payment on your new Direct Consolidation Loan, and prior IBR payments on your old consolidation loan will not count, but it’s an option.

Consolidation and IBR, though it had many problems, is supposed to be working now.