feeding on college students

When I was in college, it always amazed me to see how many credit card offers I would receive on any given day. My mailbox was full of them every week, and there was always a table or two setup near the student lounge pushing credit card applications to ease our financial (ramen soup and coffee) pains. I made the mistake of signing up for one of the first ones I was offered. When I received the card, my father promptly advised me to call and cancel, then cut it up because the interest rate was so high.

I didn't know anything about interest rates. Credit wasn't exactly a subject that they exposed us to back in high school, and even if it were, it would probably have been about as dry as accounting class. I got myself a few lower interest rate cards several months later and within months was pushing my credit limits. At least the interest rates weren't so bad ( So, I guess I was fortunate to have my father watching my back with that initial credit blunder). Several years (and some consumer credit counseling) later, I am debt free and know quite a bit about "smart" credit spending, as opposed to what one might call "albatrossian" debt.

Luckily for the college students of today, there are all kinds of resources available on smart credit and it is quite easy to find an article or two on how credit cards actually work. Even better, you don't have to accept the first credit card that comes your way. There are actually websites that offer college degree hopefuls a chance to compare student credit cards before they apply for one. You just have to hope that they do the research and don't jump at the "impulse application" while on campus (and unfortunately, impulse actions seem to be a bit stronger under the age of 25).

I was also surprised to see that many of the cards listed are offering 0% introductory rates, something that they didn't used to offer to college students who don't even know what an APR is. Another interesting offering that wasn't around when we were kids was the "Allow Card" which apparently works like the old "Visa Bucks" program, in which a parent can charge a credit card with a certain amount of money for their son or daughter to spend. However, this one seems more enhanced as it sounds like you have the option to limit what your child can spend the money on. Not a bad idea, although I could see this type of control leading to a student taking on other credit cards of their own, as a form of late teenage rebellion (if they don't realize how lucky they are to have their parents funding them after age eighteen in the first place).