Transcript: Credit Cards and College Students
By Bankrate.com

Anchor Intro: I’m Kristin Arnold with Bankrate.com. Credit card offers abound on college campuses and if you have a student heading off to college in the foreseeable future, make sure they don’t fall into the trap of credit card debt.

Voice over 1: When the question is credit cards, college students know the right answers.

SOT: “I think it’s important that until you’re out of school, and making your income, you shouldn’t use credit cards.”

SOT: “I only use them when I need them. The rest I use cash.”

SOT: “They should only have one and pay it off every month”

Stand-Up: And there is some evidence today’s student does practice what they preach. According to lender Sallie Mae, today’s student carries an average balance on their credit cards of around $2,100. That’s down about $700 from 10 years ago.

Voice over 2: Maybe one reason why is that many universities now have a new breed of counselor: not the academic kind…the debt kind. In large groups and one-on-one they lecture students when its cool to use plastic.

SOT: “Only for emergencies, and by emergencies I don’t mean they need that iPod that just came out…I mean actual emergencies, or if they’re going to use it pay for something that they can turn around and pay it off before the end of the cycle., so that they don’t accrue any interest.”

Voice over 3: Maybe something else that’s helping today’s students is secured credit cards. You can’t over-charge because the credit limit matches an amount held in a savings account.

Voice over 4: Your student can find one, along with just about every other kind of card, by logging on to Bankrate.com. It’s research that they need to start learning now and keep using forever.

Standup: College is a place you can learn all kinds of stuff. Including how to find the best credit card and then how to be careful with it. For Bankrate.com, I’m Kristin Arnold.