Preventing Marketing on College Campuses

New college students will face many obstacles and issues when entering college,

especially since they are the primary market for credit card companies. In this new

environment, and if the student has a lack of financial education, it is easy to fall for the

marketing traps that these companies set up. They set up an affinity with the college to gain access to campus marketing, and grab students’ attention with gifts and incentives.

Unfortunately, instead of educating students about the possible risks posed by credit card

ownership, they list the important information like fees and interest rates in the brochures that they pass out to new students. Credit card debt is rising at an alarming rate and when students start accumulating massive credit card debt, it can mean an end to their educational career and affect their financial future.

According to USA Today (2008), “College students have long been an attractive demographic to banks because they have few financial ties. Banks compete to provide students with credit cards and bank accounts in hopes that students will come back to the banks when they need mortgages and car loans.” For this reason, college students have been a strong target

for credit card companies. Credit card companies also offer credit to students at an anomalous levels. When students enter college as freshmen, during their first week they will receive an average of eight credit card offers from credit card companies. With a lack of financial education before starting college, the gimmicks presented by credit marketing make it easier to draw students in. By the end of their college career, over half of the graduates have multiple credit cards. Many schools have started to improve their education on personal finance before college, but there are still many college students that have not had any personal finance education which makes it easier to fall into marketing traps. The Chief Executive of the Consumer Financial Education Body...