Responsible Solicitations for Student Credit Cards
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by: barrywaters
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Word Count: 429
Solicitations for student credit cards on college campuses are as common as fraternity sweatshirts. Representatives trying to convince kids to apply for student credit cards have become more prevalent over the years. Students are an easy target. Many are on their own for the first time and long for the independence and freedom of adulthood. For some, student credit cards offer the promise of instant gratification and new spending power. Some lawmakers, student groups and university administrations are taking steps to reel in marketing behaviors they feel are predatory to financially inexperienced students. For example, solicitations for student credit cards on the grounds at Rutgers are no longer allowed. Some universities are considering less drastic measures to reign in behaviors that push student credit cards, as state lawmakers discuss ways to help them do that. Legislatures in four states have already established bills to tamper some company practices around student credit cards on campuses in their states. The first week of February, New Jersey joined the list of states trying to crack down on predatory solicitations of student credit cards on campuses. A bill was introduced that requires companies to provide educational programs for students prior to any student credit cards being issued. Those financial courses would give new applicants background on what various rates and fees actually mean, what happens when balances are not paid, how debt is accrued and how debt and delinquencies affect credit history. The bill also limits sales gimmicks, so students are not wooed into applying for credit cards just to get the free pizza or shirt. New Jersey legislators, like those of the states that preceded them, are hoping to prevent bad credit habits in the students on their campuses. They want the students at its universities to understand the responsibility they take on when they open a credit card account.
The country is coming to terms with the economic downturn and consumers are restructuring their financial goals. The years of a booming real estate market and economy left some feeling they could spend freely without consequence. As a result, some are now reworking their budgets and striving to eliminate credit card debt. The efforts of many state legislatures and university administrations to tame the marketing of student credit cards aim to prevent students from falling into the trap that so many consumers have fallen into. If students learn to make sound decisions regarding their finances and spending habits in college, they will carry that with them into adulthood.
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