I just stumbled upon this wonderful little bit of news, courtesy of the Statesman Journal is Salem, Oregon:
College students are a ‘prime target’ for credit-card companies
The best worst part of the whole article states, and I quote:
- Credit-card issuers also are striking partnerships with colleges for exclusive marketing privileges on campus, and many are gaining wider access to students. The largest four-year colleges are earning millions of dollars each in annual fees by giving banks the right to market credit cards on campus.
- These “sweetheart deals” are like “letting the fox into the chicken coop,” said Ed Mierzwinski of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. “Credit-card companies are driving hard bargains (with students), and colleges are looking the other way.”
- Why are college students so appealing to card issuers? They earn more on average during their lifetime than those who don’t attend college. Many of them can rely on parents to bail them out of financial trouble. And “every year, there’s a new cohort to market to,” said Robert Manning, a finance professor at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Isn’t it wonderful to know that our institutions of higher learning are partnering with our institutions of debt promotion to entice our college students? Parents, now is the time to educate your junior-high and high-school aged kids. DO NOT WAIT until your child leaves home to talk to them about credit cards and debt management. Do we really want our kids signing up for a credit card because they get a free sandwich or a slice of pizza pie? Silly.