Loan Consolidation Helps Credit score?

[suzaku]

Hello all. I am new and and found the site through a google search. I did a few searches but didn't find a close answer to what I wanted to know.

Basically here's my problem. I have a TON of student loan debt (9 "installments") and a few credit cards too many (2 general use and 3 store cards). A few years back before I got my job I ran into troubles, forgot to pay once, then got behind and ended up with a bunch of 30, 60, 90, and 120+ delinquent remarks on my record for the student loans. I have been current for the past year on all but one, which is current for 6 months. I checked my score and it was 565 . I was told that the late payment history was the main thing bringing it down. So started the google search on what consolidation does to credit scores.

So given my situation, I am in the middle of consolidating my federal loans which had the worst payment history and where the 90, and 120+ delinquencies were, will consolidating these in fact give a major boost to my score in 6 months? Consolidation helps my bank account greatly so either way I'm doing it, but is it true that once the consolidation is comeplete that those old "paid off" loans fall off rather quickly? Or am i screwed and have to wait the 7 years for it to fall off while establishing new good lines of credit?

btw: i also have a car loan with zero missed payments 1.5yrs old, and otherwise 50% credit card debt free (3 cards with no balance, one 20% maxed, and one that's 87% maxed).

THANKS