When it was first introduced in the mid-1980s, student loan consolidation was touted as a much-needed solution for those struggling to pay their debts from college.

Borrowers could combine their Stafford and Plus loans into one payment and lock in the prevailing interest rate — typically, one lower than the average rates that they were previously paying on their other loans.

Times have changed, however, and consolidation is no longer the cheap and attractive option that it used to be. Thanks to the declining federal funds rate and the phasing out of variable-rate loans, consolidating your student loans now will actually cost you more over the lifetime of the loan.

Eventually, consolidation will come back into fashion for variable-rate loans (rates should be much more attractive when they reset in July). But it will probably never again be the least-expensive solution for those with fixed-rate loans.

If you're currently making payments on a variable-rate Stafford or Plus loan, don't consolidate for at least a few months.

Say you have a Stafford loan that's in the repayment period: Your rate is 7.22%. Consolidate now and you'll end up paying a slightly higher 7.25%.

Wait until July 1 to consolidate, however, and rates will be near historic lows.

If you're really struggling to make the payments on your fixed-rate loans, consider temporarily lowering your monthly payments without stopping or postponing your payback period. (Doing so means you'll have to pay more on the back end.)

Here are two plans offering a standard 10-year repayment period:

1) Graduated Repayment: With this plan, your interest rate doesn't change. You'll pay a small amount in the beginning — as low as interest-only for the first four years — and your payments will gradually increase over the life of the loan.

2) Income-Sensitive Repayment: This plan is available for loans distributed through the FFEL program. Your monthly payments are between 4% and 25% of your monthly income. At a minimum, your monthly payment must cover the loan's interest.

Unfortunately, it's not recommended that you consolidate private and Federal loans together. Mainly because the interest rate that you can obtain on a Federal Consolidation loan has the potential to be significantly lower than that of a Private Loan. This link contains lots of useful information regarding Federal Consolidation Loans and what your options are regarding them: http://www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov/hfaq.shtml Additionally, here is some information you might find helpful on Private Consolidation Loans: When evaluating a private consolidation loan, ask whether the interest rate is fixed or variable, whether there are any fees, and whether there are prepayment penalties. The lenders are listed in alphabetical order. No significance should be inferred from the order in which the lenders are listed. Lender Description Chase Private Consolidation Loan [Note: This information is based on Chase's web site, which lists "current as of" dates ranging from 6/2/08 to 11/21/08, so this information might not be up-to-date.] $7,500 minimum. $150,000 cumulative borrowing limit. No fees. 30 year repayment term. Interest rates of one-month LIBOR + 5.25% to one-month LIBOR + 10.25%. 0.50% interest rate reduction with a creditworthy consigner. Cosigner release option after 36 months of on-time payments, provided that credit criteria are satisfied. NextStudent Private Consolidation Loan $7,500 minimum. $300,000 maximum. Up to 30-year term. No prepayment penalties. Variable rate loan. Interest rates of 3-month LIBOR + 1.00% to 3-month LIBOR + 1.75% during the first year and 3-month LIB