Former IU student auctions off student loans on eBay

Faced with more than $30,000 in student loan debt, a former IU student decided to auction off her loans on eBay.\nLiza Huffman got the idea from Web sites such as www.sponsormyloans.com, where students ask for money to pay off their debt. She said she figured if people buy and sell things such as grilled cheese sandwiches and snow on eBay, they’d pay for her education.\n“They really sold snow from a blizzard they had,” she said.\nDespite her willingness to auction off her loans on eBay, Huffman is really looking for a way to get by after college.\nAfter graduating from IU in August with a degree in anthropology, Huffmans dream job is working in a zoo with primate sign language or designing better zoo habitats.\n“I applied everywhere and am now working as a nanny,” she said, adding she had decent grades and some experience working with animals. “You get to the point where you get really let down because no one wants to give you a job because you don’t have experience.” \nHowever, a degree, a high GPA, good references and experience may not be enough. Jan Nickless, senior associate director at the Career Development Center, said students need to take an active role in the job search and network with companies for which they want to work\n“From our perspective, we are seeing a lot more employers than we are prepared students,” she said. “I think there are amazing opportunities out there.”\nIn her current situation, Huffman expects it will take 30 years to pay off her loans. \n“Thirty years seems like the rest of my life,” she said. \nThe situation won’t get much better if she ever starts her \ncareer as a zoo keeper. The median income, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site, is $18,140 a year.\nHuffman said it’s unfair that it’s possible to get a loan for a car at zero percent interest, but interest on a loan for education is 6.8 percent. She said she might have to get a deferment or forbearance on her loans.\nThere are many things people can do if they have trouble paying off their loans, said Jacqueline Kennedy-Fletcher, a senior associate director of client contact services at the IU Office of Student Financial Assistance.\n“If a student finds themselves in that situation, they need to talk to their lender,” Kennedy-Fletcher said. She said the lender can go over the many available options.\nHuffman is considering delaying her aspirations of working at a zoo and taking advantage of a new law that forgives the student loans of public servants. The law, which takes effect in 2009, forgives loans after the participant pays the loans for 10 years. She said she is thinking about becoming a teacher, although, she said, a teacher’s program and license would cost her another $8,000.\nSo far, the only bid on eBay Huffman has received was $50 from a woman in California. So, she said, she’ll just have to work to pay off her loans.\n“I think $50 is all I’m going to get,” she said.