"While most attention has been focused on faltering credit and housing markets, the federal student-loan market received a fairly quiet bailout," The Boston Globe reports. "A tighter lending environment doesn't mean you can't get a loan deal. This is prime time for borrowers to consolidate loans. Savings can be substantial by locking in a relatively low rate. New borrowers will also see rate cuts. The subsidized Stafford loan for those with demonstrated financial need will drop to 6 percent on July 1, from 6.8 percent. Over the next four years, that rate will fall to 3.4 percent. Finding a consolidation loan through a private lender will be difficult; fewer banks will offer them."