Spring Break
Credit card debt doubles by graduation
Angela Marino
Issue date: 11/3/09 Section: News
College students usually have two credit cards at the beginning of college, and by the time they graduate, they may have around six, said a co-founder of an educational credit Web site.
Adam Levin, co-founder of Credit.com, said that by the end of college students' freshman year, they have $1,600 in credit card debt, and by the end of their senior year, it doubles.
"During their time at college, students are introduced with easy access to credit and without the proper management knowledge of credit cards, they become a very dangerous financial tool," he said.
Levin was a former director of New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, and he created Credit.com to provide online information for solutions to financial management, according to Credit.com Web site.
Abrir Abboud, a junior industrial design major, said she doesn't have a credit card but can understand how spending can spiral out of control. "I shop when I am stressed," Abboud said. "I like getting something new, and it relieves stress when I buy it. College adds a lot of new stress, and having a credit card is a way for students to be able to relieve stress and think about the cost later."
Marco Pagani, an accounting and finance assistant professor, said it is important to understand how to recover from debt. "If students are in debt, it is important to arrange your cards by the highest interest rate," Pagani said. "Then pay off your debt the fastest with the cards that are going to receive higher fees." Credit cards should be cautiously used to establish credit history, Pagani said. "Never be late with a minimum payment on credit cards, because that will cause more fees to be added onto the card," he said.
In 2009, 91 percent of undergraduates have at least one credit card, up from 76 percent in the same study conducted in 2004, according to the Credit.com Web site.
In 2009, 92 percent of undergraduates use credit cards to pay for educational expenses and 30 percent admitted to using their credit cards to pay for college tuition, according to the Credit.com Web site.
Adam Levin, co-founder of Credit.com, said that by the end of college students' freshman year, they have $1,600 in credit card debt, and by the end of their senior year, it doubles.
"During their time at college, students are introduced with easy access to credit and without the proper management knowledge of credit cards, they become a very dangerous financial tool," he said.
Levin was a former director of New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, and he created Credit.com to provide online information for solutions to financial management, according to Credit.com Web site.
Abrir Abboud, a junior industrial design major, said she doesn't have a credit card but can understand how spending can spiral out of control. "I shop when I am stressed," Abboud said. "I like getting something new, and it relieves stress when I buy it. College adds a lot of new stress, and having a credit card is a way for students to be able to relieve stress and think about the cost later."
Marco Pagani, an accounting and finance assistant professor, said it is important to understand how to recover from debt. "If students are in debt, it is important to arrange your cards by the highest interest rate," Pagani said. "Then pay off your debt the fastest with the cards that are going to receive higher fees." Credit cards should be cautiously used to establish credit history, Pagani said. "Never be late with a minimum payment on credit cards, because that will cause more fees to be added onto the card," he said.
In 2009, 91 percent of undergraduates have at least one credit card, up from 76 percent in the same study conducted in 2004, according to the Credit.com Web site.
In 2009, 92 percent of undergraduates use credit cards to pay for educational expenses and 30 percent admitted to using their credit cards to pay for college tuition, according to the Credit.com Web site.
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