USA Today: Average college credit card debt rises with fees, tuition

USA Today has this article today about rising credit card debt among college students.  The average student carried $3,173 in credit card debt last year, up from $2,169 in 2004.  The article also reports that “in 2008, students charged an average of $2,200 in educational expenses to cards, up 134% from four years earlier.”

This is a problem AFFIL has long been concerned about, and it is highlighted in the movie Maxed Out (see trailer below).

The good news is that one state is considering limiting credit card marketing on college campuses.  According to the Connecticut Post, a committee of the Connecticut legislature unanimously endorsed a bill which would “bar companies from soliciting undergraduates during class registration or using gifts and other application incentives.  The banks and credit card companies would also have to distribute material on debt education and couldn’t use college employees to help with the solicitations.”  To see other efforts states are making to protect their college students, visit US PIRG’s Truth About Credit.

Senator Dodd’s S. 414, the Credit CARD Act, would set up some protections for college students across the nation.  AFFIL and our Partners are supporting this important bill.