CREDIT CARDS ON CAMPUS:
Social Costs and Consequences of
Student Debt
This report was originally released at the National Press Club in
Washington, D.C. on June 8, 1999; the press conference was sponsored
by the Consumer Federation of America. Based on over three years
of primary research, the study features a unique set of comparative
data that includes more than 350 in-depth interviews (over 300 undergraduate
and over 50 graduate students) and more than 400 surveys among students
enrolled in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. universities.
The report examines the intensifying financial pressures on American
college students, decline in federal student grants, and the escalating
cost of higher education. It begins by comparing student debt levels
at private and public colleges and universities. Surprisingly, debt
is increasing faster at public schools. The use of student loans
to pay off credit cards is a partial explanation. This finding illustrates
the dynamic nature of student survival strategies and complex patterns
of debt (credit cards, consumer loans, and student loans). Overall,
more than 70% of all college students have credit cards and their
debt is escalating rapidly.
The report reveals the social and economic consequences of debt
as well as intensifying consumption pressures on college campuses.
The influence of credit card marketing campaigns is also discussed.
The findings include emotional anxiety, anger over loss of freedom
(need to work extra jobs), conflicts over parents’ social
control, academic difficulties, loss of scholarships/financial aid,
bankruptcy, job rejection, and even suicide. Lastly, the cost of
credit to students is examined as well as growing pressures to use
credit cards to provide financial support to family members.
Order the Publication
Table
of Contents |
| Section |
|
Page |
| I |
INTRODUCTION: ‘Plastic Money for
Real People’
|
4 |
| II |
THE DYNAMIC PATTERNS OF STUDENT INDEBTEDNESS:
The Complexity of Measuring Credit Card Debt
|
6 |
| III |
AFTER “The Magic of Plastic’
WEARS OFF:
The Social Consequences of Credit Card Dependency
|
26 |
| IV |
MOM, Did You Borrow My [Master]Car(d)?
Confronting the Middle Class Squeeze
|
38 |
| |
|
|
Appendices |
| A |
Student College Loan Debt: Costs and Indebtedness
of 1997 Graduates (Selected Private Schools)
|
47 |
| B |
Student College Loan Debt: Costs and Indebtedness
of 1997 Graduates (Selected Public Schools)
|
48 |
| C |
Basic Themes of Mass Marketing Campaigns
|
49 |
| D |
Cost of a One Month Cash Advance on Student
Credit Cards: ($20, $50, $100 loan)
|
51 |
| E |
Credit Card Payoff Schedule: Interest Rate
and Minimum Monthly Payment )
|
53 |
| F |
Cost of a $50 Textbook Financed With Credit
Cards:
Interest Rate and Number of Years
|
54 |
| |
|
|
| |
Bibliography |
55 |
| |
|
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