Credit Card Lessons at College

By moneygodmother

Credit cards and college students go together like peanut butter and jelly–and create a similarly sticky situation too.

It’s easy to see why more students drop out of college because of debt than for poor grades. Students become addicted and dependent on credit, stuck in debt before they even have a career and steady income stream.

Did you know that 83 percent of college undergrads use credit cards and the average card debt was $2327 in 2001? According to a survey of student loan applicants by loan provider Nellie Mae, students steadily increased usage rates and balances too. From freshman to senior year, the average debt load more than doubled and number of cards held nearly tripled.

Last week, I asked hundreds of new college freshmen if they used credit cards. Surprisingly, a majority did not have one yet.  Yet.