Not necessarily. The interest rate on the consolidation loan would be the weighted average of the interest rates of the loans you’re consolidating, rounded up to the nearest 1/8 of a percent. Depending on weighting, you actually could end up paying a higher interest rate, though more likely the rate will be lower. Federal law requires variable-rate direct subsidized and unsubsidized consolidation loans to be capped at 8.25 percent, while PLUS consolidation loans are capped at 9 percent. Some experts are recommending consolidation as soon as possible because the rates will likely go up come July 1, 2000. That’s when the government annually readjusts interest rates for the year for student loans, and those rates will likely reflect the recent climb in other types of interest rates.