Student Credit Cards
Student Credit Cards: Being Bombarded with Offers
In the 21st century, perhaps the only thing more common than parties on college campuses is the number of solicitations for student credit cards that students receive with ever increasing regularity. By educating yourself about student credit cards, you will be in the best possible position to take advantage of that particular student credit card solicitation that makes the most sense for you at this point in your life.
The fact is that many college students (and even a good number of high school students) are receiving solicitations for student credit cards at the rate of two or three offers a week – sometimes even more. Beyond these types of solicitations, many credit card companies are setting up booths directly on campuses at the beginning of each new term where the promote their products directly to the student body. In most instances, these companies offer students some sort of free gift when they apply for a credit card. This is not the case with college student loans offers.
Oftentimes these credit card companies will make arrangements with a student organization on campus. These companies make arrangements to donate money to the organization based on how many new applicants the company is able to garner for its student credit cards while on campus. These companies bill the whole process as a win-win situation for everyone.
Unfortunately, because of these types of promotional efforts, a good number of students eventually end up facing financial problems because they overdue when it comes to credit cards. With that in mind, some schools have attempted to limit the ability of these credit card companies to access students on campus. However, these companies have claimed First Amendment rights and, when they team up with on campus organizations, they have not been prevented from being on campus to recruit students to sign up for credit cards. There are comapnies, like student credit cards.com that reverse the process and let the student approach them when they are ready to learn about credit and apply online
At the present time, nearly 90% of all college students have a student credit card by the end of their freshman year. Moreover, those students you end up seeking assistance the legal services office campus for debt related issues average about five active student credit cards with an overall average balance of approximately $8,000. The staggering amount of credit card debt is in addition to student loans, car payments and any other financial obligations that students otherwise have taken on.
There are students who sign up for various credit cards – with no intention of using them – simply to get the free merchandise that is being offered at the time of application by the credit card companies. In fact, they may never use these cards. However, with surprising frequency, these cards end up in the hands of someone else who utilizes these student credit cards without the knowledge of the students who initially applied for these cards.
In the end, these students end up having to deal with identity theft and end up spending a significant amount of time trying to get their credit reports corrected.
Finally, it is important to note that applying for multiple credit cards in and of itself can cause a lowering of your credit score. Each time you apply for a line of credit – including student credit cards – your credit score takes a hit. While it will not lower your credit score significantly on each occasion, multiple applications can end up having a significant effect on your credit score.
Some students are turning to private student loans instead of credit card as the private loans traditionally come with lower interest rates. Take your time and compare any credit based product before applying.
