Fact: Student's Credit Card Debt was highest during the Credit Crunch

Sallie Mae released a report that was to many a huge surprise. In the report, it was found out that the average college student has a debt of more than $3,000 accumulated from the near four credit cards that they carry around.
 
Other finding of the report that was compiled by U.S largest student loan providers shows that:

• The number of students with at least one credit card is 84% of all the college students.

• The average student will have 4.6 credit cads

• Half the students interviewed have more than 4 credit cards

• Of all the students in debts, 21% had balances ranging from $3,000 and $7,000.

• College seniors with debts over $7,000 or above were 19%.

• Few students (11%) have a $0 balances on all their cards.

• 80% of the students did not know just ho large their balances were and displayed shock at their balances. 

• 68% of the students have at some point have made purchases with their cards that they knew that they could not be able to make repayments for. 

• Although their financial aid covers college expense such as textbooks and school supplies, 92% confirm that they have used their cards for these expenses. Other things that they use them are food, clothes, and cosmetics.

• The number of freshmen that that carry cards has been on the rise from a low of 42% in 2004 to 67% today. Although the number is smaller as compared to 90% of the juniors and 88% of the seniors.

• The college students with credit cards were introduced to them 39% at the time of entering college and the other 36% when freshmen.

Although the Credit card are everywhere in the campuses, very few students (5%)  took up their first credit cards from the vendors that offer them on campus.

The students took up their cards:
• 38% after being sent a solicitation mail.
• 19% after being referred by their parent.

Senior students are the most indebted with an average credit card debt at of $4,138, followed by far by the freshmen with an average debt of $2,038. If they accumulated the debts at that rate they could be looking at debts those areas high as $8,000 before they graduate from college.
What makes the debt levels so alarming is that 35% of these students hide their credit standing form their parents since they are also surprised that their card credit card balances are so high.

[posted by : OFP on Jan. 17, 2011]


TAGS: credit, debt, loans, student, credit card

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