This isn't just a problem while these students are still in college. If they leave college with both student loans and credit debt, it will be difficult for them to stay afloat, even with a full-time job. What's more frightening is that incoming freshman will already have cards from high school. Jamba-Joyner also found that among the students she surveyed, women, minorities and students with lower incomes were less likely to pay off their credit card debts, as were people who owned more than one credit card. Almost 60 percent of students surveyed said their parents paid off their credit card balance each month, which Jamba-Joyner said may be preventing students from learning valuable lessons about financial responsibility.
Students tend to make mistakes.
A parent can make a student stay home and work all summer instead of going on a trip, for example, if he or she has made a bad financial decision. Parents and universities should work together to curb the problem of runaway bad credit, Jamba-Joyner said. Schools should also expand the role of financial counseling. At UF, financial counseling officials are looking into establishing a program to help students with credit card debt. I cringe when I walk by the promotional credit card tables, and I know something has to be done.