Credit Cards for College Students: Why Plastic is Even More Popular than Leather and Diamonds
How Credit Cards for College Students Can Spell Disaster for Many New Students
If you just started college, you might be overwhelmed with all the advertisements you’ll be receiving promoting credit cards for college students. You might even find it difficult to navigate your way into the library or dining hall without encountering three or four credit card company representatives offering water bottles, T-shirts, and free CDs just for filling out an application. You’re often told that you can get the free gift now and cancel the card later. However, it’s not always that easy.
A Growing Trend
Marketing credit cards for college students is a recent trend. Students attending college a few decades ago were not faced with the temptation of overspending by using plastic because credit cards were not as popular as they have now become.
Getting In Deep Before You Know It
There are many credit cards for college students available. It is not difficult to qualify for high balances either. Within your first month of school, even with no prior credit history, it is entirely possible to qualify for $1000 limits on multiple credit cards. After a few quick stops at your favorite stores and a few mouse clicks later, you could easily rack up a few thousand dollars of debt.
Another popular, but dangerous use of credit cards, involves charging the cost of an entire spring break vacation to your credit card. It might seem like a good idea at the time, but once your tan fades, you might not feel like paying off the balance in full as you might have promised yourself you would do.
Fresh Out Of College And Already Drowning
If you rack up a bunch of credit card debt and have trouble paying the bills that come in, you’re going to face some serious ramifications when you graduate from school. When you graduate, you will likely need to qualify for an apartment or some sort of housing option, which usually involves a credit check. If you have a tarnished credit record, you might find it difficult to qualify for suitable housing or even employment in some cases. The aftermath of accumulating too much credit card debt will be with you for decades. Unfortunately, the ease and availability of credit cards for college students has contributed to creating a scenario of financial disaster for many college grads.
Comments
While this article is good caution against a practice far too pervasive -- overspending on plastic by college students -- it's also good to keep in mind that easy credit cards for college students can be a wonderful opportunity to start building a healthy credit history.
Posted by: www.Auction-Misspellings.com | August 30, 2006 4:52 PM