When I read the facts and figures about college student credit card debt, I couldn’t help but get that familiar sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I always had when I was a college student myself and was going through a really tough time dealing with both student loans having to be repaid, no great job to show for my years of school, and a mountain of credit card debt. I admit, I was naive, and I charged so many things on my credit cards as a college student. But it was easy money, and I used it not only for fun stuff but for things I needed at the time like groceries and car repairs so I could actually eat and get to the job I had waiting tables.
So many other college students fall prey to this as well, because many of them don’t even work. Some have help from their parents, but that doesn’t cover all their bills, and they end up getting in debt so deep over their head that it feels overwhelming when they get out, like they’ll never dig their way out. With today’s job market, we are seeing more and more college students graduating with mountains of credit card debt and debt from tuition that can’t get a job in the field they went to school for. They are forced to work jobs that don’t pay so great, and at the same time, their living expenses are barely getting paid because they have all this debt to repay.
It’s enough to make anyone feel like they want to bury their head in the sand and never come back up to reality. The statistics are nothing short of depressing on the current state of affairs for recent college grads. Apparently, the number has skyrocketed up to 41% more debt for college students over just the past four years, which means they are paying more and more credit card debt, and that amount went up within a matter of just a few short years. Now, with the credit crunch and the reigning in of credit card companies offering so much easy money, we may see that shrink, but still, it’s a state of affairs that needs to somehow stop.
Because of this squeeze on recent college grads, the default rate on college student loans has also increased over what is considered to be an acceptable amount, with students so squeezed by other higher interest bills that they choose to default on the loan that actually is giving them a good deal. They are trying to pay off the higher interest debt, but foregoing the low interest debt that is the student loan, which may be hurting them even more, and is certainly burning their credit score in the long run. Credit cards for college students should be reviewed carefully before one signs up. Make sure the interest rate is fair and that there isn’t fine print stating they can raise it to an enormous percentage if certain conditions exist.
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