What is the Role of Credit Card Companies on a College Campus?

Jan. 3, 2011 - PRLog -- Andover, Massachusetts January 3rd, 2011 –  Do credit card companies have any business on a college campus? When should college students learn how to use credit cards safely and to their benefit? This debate has become more relevant as recent federal regulations have outlawed most credit card advertising on campuses. Gone are the days when major corporations were able to offer gifts as a reward for signing up for their first credit card. Is this beneficial for students? Or are we setting them up to enter the real world after graduation with no idea on how to use a credit card?

While students learn many of the basic and advanced skills that are necessary to succeed in the real world they generally fail when it comes to learning about Personal Finance. This is why the average student graduates with over $3,000 of credit card debt as well as a boat load of student loans. Why would a student take on even more personal debt when they know they will be owing tens of thousands of dollars upon graduation? Basically, it’s because credit cards are very easy to use and the consequences of them are generally not discussed, either by adults around them or the creditors themselves. For many adults in America today credit card debt is a fact of life so many don’t even think about warning their kids of the dangers. So what we end up with are inexperienced adults who are thousands of dollars in debt before they turn 30.

I believe colleges are taking the easy way out by banning these credit card companies from college campuses. All it is doing is avoiding the problem, not fixing it. If they allowed the companies on campus AND enrolled every incoming freshman in a personal finance class, students would benefit from the convenience and safety of a credit card and know how to use it correctly. Through my personal experience I know how tempting credit cards can be in college. Due to this, I have been visiting local high schools for the past year to teach kids about credit cards and how to use them. I hope that this minor role will help at least some of these bright young students avoid the common mistakes that are now hurting millions of young adults in this country.

Readers, what do you think the role of credit card companies should be on a college campus? Are we doing our youth a disservice by banning them?

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Preferred Financial Services is the leading voice in the debt settlement industry. PFS has worked with hundreds of creditors to help negotiate realistic goals for those drowning credit card debt.