NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2007
Credit Cards Could Trap College Kids
If Misused, Could Lead To Big Problems After Graduation, Warns Ray Martin
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During the next several weeks, 17 million college students will arrive at college campuses across the nation. Many will be targeted by credit card marketing campaigns designed to sign them up for specific cards endorsed by their college. Many students will accept these offers and fall into what is known as "the college credit card trap."
According to a national survey on the use of credit cards by college students conducted by the Nellie Mae Corporation, a leading provider of federal and private education loans, about 42 percent of college freshman have a credit card. But by the time they reach their final year of college, 91 percent of students have at least one credit card and the average number of credit cards owned is four per student. Forty-six percent of students reported that they obtained their first credit card in their freshman year. By the time students reach their senior year, they carry an average credit card balance of about $2,850. College students report direct mail solicitation as the primary source for selecting and signing up for a credit card.
Students' Credit Cards
It's reported that nearly every major college and university has a lucrative affinity relationship deal with a credit card company. These deals can pay millions of dollars, providing a source of steady income to the college in exchange for handing over valuable marketing rights to the credit card company. In most cases, the deals work like this: The credit card company pays a multi-million dollar royalty fee to the college in exchange for access to mailing lists of the students, faculty and alumni, and exclusive marketing privileges at athletic and other school events. In addition, the school is paid a fee for each student who signs up for a credit card, as well as a percentage of the amounts they charge on the card.
So it seems that as college students are signing up for credit cards and getting into debt, their schools are profiting from it. If this strikes you as a conflict of interest and just flat-out wrong, you are not alone. Urged by a chorus of consumer advocates, Congress plans to hold hearings on these practices later this year, to more closely examine the relationships between credit card companies and colleges and universities. Perhaps more colleges will use some of the revenue from these credit card deals to fund financial and debt management courses and require their college students to complete these courses before obtaining their credit cards!
So, what's the message here? Should college students avoid credit cards altogether? That's just not practical. But many students obtain a credit card without giving any thought to setting up a financial plan with limits on the total amount of debt they should get into. As a result, they often find themselves in an unmanageable situation, facing an unmanageable amount of debt after graduating from college.
The learning curve with credit cards is not difficult, but there is little room for trial and error, as making a mistake can have big consequences. Students need to learn to establish and use credit properly, and to develop a good credit history, before they graduate from college. Often, the first step in this process is getting and responsibly using a credit card, which is an important and valuable financial tool, when used correctly. But this can backfire, since having too many credit cards and late payments can ruin your credit rating. This can have long-term consequences, such as getting turned down for a car or home loan or, even worse, a job -- many employers check credit reports and turn down applicants who have poor credit ratings.
Using Credit Cards Correctly in College
Every student who gets a credit card needs to understand this most basic and essential concept: Each time you use a credit card, you are borrowing money. The credit card company will charge you interest until you pay it back in full. Credit cards never give you more money to spend, they just delay when you have to pay, and can even significantly increase the cost of what you buy when it is charged on your credit card and interest begins to add up.
Do's and Don'ts for Students Using Credit Cards in College:
Another popular form of using a credit card to get cash is to charge the expenses for a group of friends and have your friends pay their portion of the costs in cash to you. The idea is that you will hold onto the cash and use it to pay for the items charged to your card. The problem is that cash they give you never finds its way to your credit card, because you quickly spend it. Now you are stuck with no cash and a large credit card balance, with additional interest charges.
Finally, parents need to understand that students can apply for credit cards without any parental permission. Parents who want to supervise students' use of credit cards should never sign up as a joint owner with their student on a credit card: This is an invitation to credit problems and identity theft for both the parent and the student if a student's credit card is lost or stolen. Parents who want to monitor students' use of credit cards can get set up to receive duplicate statements or set up online access to view the account activity.
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- "This is one practice that Congress needs to look into. These students... are not ready to make this kind of financial decision. Most of them are barely of legal age. How can they go from the nest to financial dependency in the course of a summer..." Posted by scoliosuxs at 07:44 AM : Sep 13, 2007
Congress doesn''t need to "look into" this. If these kids who are at least 18 yrs old (legal enough to vote, go to war, get married, own a business, drive a car...) have not been taught "from the nest" by their parents about financial responsibility it is NOT the fault of Congress! It''s the fault of the parents.
No, a kid is not expected to learn "financial dependency in the course of a summer", but he is expected to learn it over the course of 18 yrs! But he has to be TAUGHT it- that''s not Congress'' job, but the parents.
If there were less coddling/Open Wallet policies & a LOT more basic discipline there wouldn''t be a fresh new generation of people in credit card debt who want to blame someone else for their greedy over-spending habits.
Baby birds learn to fly & fend for themselves from "the nest". Human babies learn from the nest to put the blame on everyone else, that they are entitled to everything, & material possession is happiness.
It''s not Congress'' job to tell parents how to raise their kids. If the parents choose to pass on the legacy of financial irresponsibility that''s their own tough luck. - Reply to this comment
- This is one practice that Congress needs to look into. These students usually in their freshman year are not ready to make this kind of financial decision. Most of them are barely of legal age. How can they go from the nest to financial dependency in the course of a summer. This practice is destroying lives before they even get a chance to live them. Do our schools need this type of "blood money" so bad that they are willing to step on the backs of the children they are paid to turn into adults. Just my opinion from a parent.
- Reply to this comment
- They don''t "fall into [a] credit card trap", they go in willingly, following the example set forth by their Gotta Get It All parents who''ve hocked their lives for bigger & more of it, & given in to every "gimme gimme" out of their kid''s mouth.
I once overheard a young child in a store whine at her mother for some toy. Her mother said, "No, I don''t have enough money." The daughter responded: "Why don''t you pay for it with your Magic Card?" Now, I''m sure upon hearing that exchange, Art Linkletter would have declared "Kids say the darnedest things!" But no, it''s not cute when kids are brought up to think that money & stuff appear by "magic"- & mommy & daddy are the magicians.
I have no sympathy for these so-called "victims" of credit card debt. They aren''t victims. They''re suckers & idiots. Only buy what you can afford right now, & only what you really need. - Reply to this comment
- Especially with the cost of living and education going up, and the occasional news report saying credit cards have been used for necessities, it''s inevitable - for far more than college kids.
If more jobs paid reasonable wages, people wouldn''t have to get into deep debt. Even college debt on its own is pretty stiff on its own; $40k for an AA degree in graphic design (typical salary $30k/yr) and like other industries, that''s going offshore too.
Though I''ll agree the issue is definitely not as simplistic as my little response would suggest; this problem has many facets; some of which legitimately do include irresponsibility. I learned my lesson the hard way and I still consider myself lucky. - Reply to this comment
