Credit Cards on Campus

Credit Cards on Campus

Virginia A. Hess

Com 172

June 2, 2011

Rough Draft

Professor Steve Young MBA

Credit Cards on Campus

Credit card companies take advantage of college students. According to a study done by Mansfield and Pinto (2007), 23% of students obtained a credit card before entering college. The average age at which students in this sample obtained their first card was 17.9 years, the youngest age at 14. Even though they are technically adults something should be done to teach them about credit cards so they know how to use them responsibly. They prey on the new-found freedom and level of immaturity of college students. Credit card companies like to target college students. They know that either the students’ parent will bail them out or the companies have the students in debt for the rest of their lives. They like to target the students when they are young. Many reasons they tend to focus on students. Credit card companies are so hungry for college students; they approve applications even when students do not meet the criteria. For example, a student can get a credit card with no job, no verifiable income, no credit history, and even without a co-signer. They see the marketing potential in college students for many reasons, such as loyalty, impulse buying, unforeseen bills, proof of independence, and for extra money to go out on. . This paper will be touching on many of these reasons and why there should be restrictions and why students should take a financial class before they get the chance to get a credit card.

The average American college senior accumulates more than $2,500 in credit-card debt by the time they acquire their diploma. To keep them from entering the workforce in debt, some parents bail out their children. Credit cards know this, and it is a main reason that they target college students. If the parents do not step in and help the student, the student will pay it off on their own and will result in a since of...