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PASADENA, CA (June 30, 2005) Interest rates on federal student loans are currently at an all time low (as low as 1.625%) and are scheduled to be raised by more than 60% at midnight tonight. Students and attorneys from all over the United States are rushing to beat the deadline and lock in the low rate. With only hours left until midnight, practically all applicants are using e—applications, which utilize electronic signatures. Law School Loans, a loan consolidation company that specializes in serving legal professionals, has seen its number of e—applications quadruple in the last two days. "We have been offering an electronic-application option for a long time, but before the July 1 deadline loomed, the split between paper and electronic options was about equal," explained Law School Loans' CEO, Harrison Barnes. "However, with hours left before the deadline, the turnaround time for a paper application makes that option not feasible. As a result, thousands of people are rushing to their computers for a more expedient, electronic application."
The onslaught of electronic applications has affected the technical side of company's operations. Anticipating a problem, Law School Loans technology officers moved to increase the number of servers to support the level of activity: "About a week ago, we noticed discernable spikes on our servers' operations. At the same time, we saw a steadily increasing number of e-applications," explained Law School Loans' Chief Technology Officer, Mihir Sheth. "It was fairly safe to assume that the level of activity would only increase with the upcoming deadline. So we increased the strength of the application-processing cluster by adding more servers." This advance preparation proved to be wise. Even with thousands of applicants having already emailed their applications, and many more planning to do so in the next dozen hours, the technical support has been flawless.
As the clock approaches midnight, the flurry of activity at the company's headquarters seems to be increasing. Many loan counselors have been working 18-hour days for the last week, but there are no complaints. As one remarked during a short break: "The intensity here has been really palpable. Plus, it helps to know that people are making last-ditch efforts to save money and they depend on us to help them."
Website: www.LawSchoolLoans.com
Phone: (800) 659-8344.
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