Hi all -

I'll be graduating this May with >$230,000 in student loan debt. About $100k of that is in a consolidation loan with a 3.625% rate. The remainder are graduate unsub and subsidized Stafford (6.8%) and FFEL PLUS loans (8.5%), plus an ancient Perkins loan (fixed 5%) from undergrad.

From what I understand, PLUS and Perkins loans have fixed APRs, and Stafford loans have a variable rate. With 4 lenders, it would be nice to simplify this as much as possible. Here are my questions...

1.) I'm a little confused about what's going on with student loan rates. I understand that some legislation lowering student loan rates went through, but it doesn't apply to grad school loans. Are my Stafford loans going to stay at 6.8% (!!) or will the rate be adjusted in July as usual? Should I wait to consolidate my Stafford loans until July?

2.) My plan is to keep the initial consolidation loan and the Perkins loan separate, and then possibly consolidate the new Stafford and PLUS loans together. Any potential problems with this plan?

Any help (especially correcting any wrong assumptions I've made) would be appreciated. Thanks!