Issue date: 8/21/08 Section: News

Americans accrued a total of 18 billion dollars in credit card debt in 2007, according to a report by the New York Times. With little or no credit history, a small income and relatively no experience with monthly credit bills, many college students are often prime targets for credit companies.

"If you find yourself going a month or two and not able to pay off the credit card balance in full, you are spending too much relative to your income," Edgar Norton, professor of finance, said. "You can either reduce spending to the basic necessities or get another job."

A study conducted by Georgetown University showed that college students carry an average of over five hundred dollars in debt to credit companies and young adults in the same age bracket carried more than a thousand.

The fact that credit debt builds over time makes paying off bills increasingly difficult for students who may also be in the process of paying off student loans. Aside from acclimating to college classes and dorm life, some students create stressful situations in which they much salvage their bank accounts from credit debt by starting a new card.

According to Norton, the average college student will double his or her credit card debt and triple the number of cards he or she owns between arriving on campus and graduating. Many students also find credit cards to be a useful alternative at certain locations where debit cards are not accepted.

Although convenient, credit cards tend to promote careless spending unless measures are taken to keep it under control. Students make the mistake of spending too much money too fast, easily launching themselves into debt.

"I would only use my credit card if I had no other way of paying for something or in an emergency," Nick Kloster, a freshman general student, said.

Rising tuition and cost of living expenses only compound problems for college students struggling to pay off loans and credit card debt. Sparing use of credit cards with high interest rates encourages students to reduce debt or avoid it all together. According to Norton, budgeting is the key.

"Do your best to use a credit card only for convenience purchases," he said. "Not everyone likes to carry a lot of cash around, so use the credit card when buying groceries, buying gas - and paying the bill in full every month."

Illinois State policy prohibits the solicitation of credit cards on campus property. However, CNNMoney.com affirms that college campuses receive the highest concentration of advertisements in the form of brochures, phone calls and even personal encounters with representatives walking through campus hoping to find new targets.

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