I heard Student Loan Consolidation is good from a few people. The thing is to consolidate your loans you will have to show proof of income, so I don't think you can apply right away when you graduate; you would probably need to work for at least a few months before you apply. So in this case just consolidate them when your grace period ends. You will still obviously be gaining interest during the grace period BUT the interest isn't added to the principal until the grace period ends so at least you will be able to consolidate before the interest is capitalized. I wold still recommend making aggressive payments during the grace period once you start working and given the size of your loan fixed interest is probably the better/safer option when you do consolidate, because who knows what the rate will be in 5 years. Call Toll Free@+1-800-997-7340.