Finding money advice on campus

Ah, the freedom of college, where you can subsist on pizza and skip your biology class without the threat of parental retribution. But being on your own has its downside, too. Suddenly, you're paying some of your own bills. You may be taking on thousands of dollars in student loans. And you have to figure out whether your new Abercrombie jeans will push you over the spending limit on your credit card. Where's Mom when you need her?

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While your parents aren't around to teach you how to handle your money, others -- including the college itself -- are pitching in to help students do everything from trim expenses to file a tax return.

Here are five kinds of financial help to look for at your school:

Money 101 classes
If paying for books and Burger King in the same month has pushed your budgeting skills to the limit, you're a likely candidate for some basic financial literacy education, which your university probably provides. At Boston University this year, CapitalOne presented its MoneyWi$e University course as a one-time, two-hour session that hit on the basics of budgeting, getting a car loan, handling credit cards, saving and even buying a home. "At one point, we had an interactive session on what real-world expenses are, and students really began to participate," says Diana Don Colby, director of financial education for CapitalOne. "We talked about, 'Are you going to need a car to get to work after you graduate? Can you take public transportation? What's it going to cost you?' -- real-life factors like that."

Similar financial advice is available - often for free - from the college administration. At Utah State University, for example, students can get free financial counseling from professional staffers and student interns through the university's office of Housing and Financial Counseling Services. "The first we do is go over your current budget -- and many people don't have a budget," says Mindy Nielsen, assistant director. "So we have you give us a 'guesstimate' of how much you spend monthly, or we'll ask you to track expenses for a minimum of 14 days. Your counselor then comes up with a new money management plan for you, commits you to meeting specific goals and follows up until you've actually made some positive changes."
Not only is the counseling gratis, it sometimes even pays. Nielsen says the office has been known to lure in new students by offering a $25 gift certificate to the campus bookstore in exchange for two sessions with a counselor.

If you can't find any help like this at your school, try Web sites such as www.YouCanDealWithIt.com, which teaches college students and recent grads about money matters.

Credit card protection
Even if you're not among the 76 percent of undergrads armed with your own credit card, you'll probably be offered 15 to 20 cards each semester through mail and phone solicitations. In the face of that temptation, it's hard to resist racking up debt. That's why hundreds of university administrators have prohibited credit card companies from setting up booths during the first few weeks of school, from sponsoring campus events and sometimes from setting foot on campus at all.