It's that time of the year when students start heading to or back to college. As they do, parents need to be aware that credit card companies will be right there to meet and greet them.
Unbelievably, credit card companies with offers of easy money bombard college campuses for students. You can find credit card companies marketing themselves on campus with incentives like T-shirts and water bottles in exchange for a completed credit card application. Credit card companies target students because they have a higher earning potential and most times, remain loyal to their first card, said Jeanette Tucker, a family economist at the Louisiana State University AgCenter. According to surveys, the average credit card debt of a graduating college student ranges from $2,300 to $9,000 said Layne McDaniel of Noesis Data, a Baton Rouge , La., firm that offers financial education.
Students certainly don't head off to college with a goal of digging themselves into debt. The idea of re-creating the comforts of home by purchasing computers, cable televisions, cell phones, and new clothes is very enticing. This spending pattern often gets out of hand and students end up having to work more or get too tired to study and others just quit school altogether to pay the bills. Parents aren't always able or willing to dig their children out of debt.
These on campus offers most often than not aren't a good deal for students after the introductory low-interest rate period ends. Studies have shown that that students who get credit at campus promotions have higher unpaid balances than those who don't and often times end up ruining their credit. Good credit is essential when these college students graduate to help get them where they want to go in life. Unfortunately, what was thought to be easy money actually ends up being a hard lesson learned.
-- L. Morse
Labels: application, campusus, college, credit cards, students
