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(DAILY_WILDCAT)

pacing the void

By Ana A. Lima
Arizona Daily Wildcat
May 7, 1997

Credit card companies may lure students to debt

Prize incentives like T-shirts and CDs attract many UA students to sign up for credit cards, even if they don't have the money to pay the bills at the end of each month.

"I think they (credit card companies) try to entice a lot of the young freshmen and sophomores," said Michelle Tsosie-McKenna, a math and political science senior.

Tsosie-McKenna said credit card companies see college students as easy targets.

She said she is still paying off a credit card she signed up for during her freshman year at the UA. Now she said she tries to stay away from credit card representatives on campus.

Both a life-saver and a debt-digger, credit cards occupy space in the wallets of 64 percent of college students in the United States, according to a 1995 Roper CollegeTrack Financial Services study conducted by Roper Starch World Wide Inc.

The study revealed that 20 percent of those students use four or more credit cards.

The percentage of credit card sales at the University of Arizona Associated Students Bookstore reflect a frequent use of "plastic" on the UA campus.

In the 1995-96 academic year, 47.77 percent of the bookstore's sales were paid by credit cards.

Students buy a variety of merchandise with their credit cards, said Pam Buser, UA Bookstore head cashier.

"They buy clothes, supplies, class notes, everything," Buser said. "I would say it makes it easier for them."

Emma Livshits, a Latvian exchange student in the College of Business, said credit cards are a very convenient method of spending money.

"When you don't have cash, you don't think about what you're going to get later on the bill," Livshits said.

UA students have ample opportunity to sign up for credit, as many credit card companies visit the campus throughout the academic year. Setting up tents on the UA Mall, credit card companies give out prizes in exchange for students' signatures.

Alex Tsosie, an exercise and sports sciences junior, said she signs up for credit cards only as a way of getting free prizes. She said her personal credit is not enough for credit card approval.

Becky Kososkie, a student coordinator for Campus Dimensions, was on campus yesterday signing students up for several different credit cards.

Kososkie said most credit card companies have relaxed requirements for students to be approved for a credit card. To sign up, she said students don't need to have a job as a source of income.

Because credit cards are so convenient, credit counseling services keep busy with people who are in debt.

"There's a lot of money to be made in the credit card business," said Ron Trithart, an educator at consumer Credit Counseling Services of Arizona.

Trithart said he has seen "more than a few college students" with a credit card debt problem. He said credit card companies target college students because most adults already own at least one.

"Chances are the first credit card you own, you will hang on to," he said. "It represents adulthood."

Even though 59 percent of college students own credit cards in their name, according to the Roper CollegeTrack study, some are dependent on parents to pay the bills.

"There's a likelihood that most parents will help bail students out," Trithart said.

When consumers use the credit card and do not pay the bills, Trithart said the compound interest adds up.

"You can blame the credit card companies but the bottom line is you and I are the ones who sign it," Trithart said. "It's a contract."

Cheryl Noval, a marketing senior, said she owns three general credit cards and two others from department stores.

Noval said credit increases provide an incentive for spending more money.

She said she usually charges $100 a month on her credit cards to buy clothing and for emergencies.

"I usually tend to use them for bigger purchases," she said.

Alex Hembree, an undeclared sophomore, said she does not have any credit cards, except for a Macy's charge card, because it makes overspending too easy.

Hembree's credit card phobia has its origins at home.

"My sister cut up all her credit cards last year but she is still paying for them," Hembree said.


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