Gateway

Issue date: 8/25/08 Section: News

Andrew Kunka charged $4,000 to his credit card several years ago to help pay tuition at Loyola Marymount. Now a first-year law student at Rutgers University's Newark, New Jersey campus, Kunka, struggles to make the minimum payment on the card - which is nearly maxed out. "I feel like credit card companies target us because we really have no financial awareness," said Kunka, 22. (Christopher Barth/MCT) [Click to enlarge]

WASHINGTON (MCT) - As the fall semester beckons and financial aid from parents and the government runs dry, more college students are turning to credit cards to pay not only for their textbooks, meals and transportation but also for tuition.

A recent survey by U.S. Public Interest Research Groups found that two-thirds of college students have at least one card, 70 percent pay their own monthly bills and 24 percent have used their cards to help pay tuition.

That helps explain why the average survey respondent will graduate with more than $2,600 in credit card debt, and those with student loans will owe nearly $3,000.

Andrew Kunka charged $4,000 to his credit card several years ago to help pay tuition at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Now a first-year law student at Rutgers University's Newark, N.J., campus, Kunka struggles to make the minimum payment on the card, which is nearly maxed out.

"I feel like credit card companies target us because we really have no financial awareness," said Kunka, who's 22. "We're barely out of our homes, barely having experiences as adults, and they throw these things at us and they don't make you aware of what you're signing into."

In recent congressional testimony, a card industry representative said stories such as Kunka's were aberrations and that two out of three students paid their card balances in full each month.

Continued...

Page 1 of 4 next >

Article Tools