Students are an attractive target group for credit card issuers. Very often you can see numbers of students gather at centralized locations (beaches, parks), so that credit card companies can arrange advertising campaigns for student credit card offers. Recent surveys showed that:

• nearly three-fourths of former college and high school students continued to hold their first credit cards for more than 10 years after graduation;

• about 63 % of senior students have minimum 1 credit card;

• 21 % hold four or more cards.

This makes credit card providers, that are especially interested in winning the interest of this promising consumer group, invent any possible incentives. Usually such give-aways as free t-shirts and souvenirs, drinks and music performances, are used to make the young people just put their signature in the papers and thus get stuck with the card for a number of years. Thus, a merry spring vacation can end in several new credit cards in a young man's name.

Another effective way of gaining new customers is sending multiple pre-approvals by mail. A 20-year old student can receive on average 50 pre-approved or instant approval card offers a year. The main danger of them is that young people, seeing the words "You are pre-approved" fail to read the terms and conditions and evaluate the price of this credit card and the opportunities it gives.

Administration and Parents Are Vexed

The fact is that student credit cards are more and more popular which leads to debt increase and credit ruin among students. This is a matter of concern for parents and college or university administration. The latter have worked out a number of educational programs in cooperation with credit card companies. They include issuing brochures like "How to Build Good Credit" or "How to Choose the Right Credit Card", organizing lectures, launching Internet sites and forums and many more. Non-profit organizations carry out research and help students to get loans and consult them on personal finance matters.

While many people (including parents) are convinced that even low interest credit cards are universal evil, and they only result in debt and credit damage, credit educators support and prove the idea that credit cards have a very important role in the life of the young people. In can help students to buy books, clothes and pay for their studies plus they learn how to deal with credit, how to be disciplined and how to plan their financial affairs.

Student Credit Cards - Pros and Cons

So, in spite of the difficulties and excessive spending, people need credit throughout their life, so it's necessary to teach the youngsters to choose and use credit cards both in theory and practice. But in the end, it's up to the person whether to take a credit card offer or not.

What you lose with a student credit card:

• too high interest rates and fees hit your pockets

• it's a great risk to miss payments, as it leads to high charges and interest increase

• convenience and easy access to the money leads to abuse, and therefore, large debt

What you get with a student credit card:

• you can get money quickly

• you don't have to carry a lot of cash

you can trace your expenses with the help of monthly statements

• parents can help and control students' expenses due to credit limit of a card and bills sent home

• monthly payments in full help to avoid high interest rates and late fees

Apply for credit cards, it's nice to have a couple of them in your wallet. Be always on time with your payments and mind that cards are just a part of your large personal financial plan. Saving and working to earn are more significant parts of this plan which doesn't imply constant struggle against debt.

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