By next fall, I'm going to have to take out my first SL for grad school. The school I'm going to is not a direct lend.

Which lender has good terms for stafford/private loans? With the variable-rate terms changing to fixed rate in july, how is loan consolidation going to change? Can I take my initial loan through UHEAA and get their (great) interest rate reductions?

thanks.. all the changes are really confusing, and because of it, a lot of the information I'm reading for past loans won't apply to me

Your school typically will have one or two lenders that they work with; you can't generally choose your lender ... and if you do, there's not going to be a great deal of difference in what you get from them. You should contact your school's financial aid office and find out who they use.