As if paying for college was not rough enough... now that plastic in your pocket is getting into the act.
Philip Novak of Minneapolis thought it made sense to put about $8,000 on his credit card. The rate was good and he needed to buy books and supplies, like a laptop, while pursuing his engineering degree at the University of Minnesota.
Then he heard that Citicard's rate was being doubled to 14 percent. For a returning student, not relying on support of parents, this is a factor that is helping to make his fifth year of school quite costly.
"I've tried to find other cards onto which I can transfer balances, but because I'm a student with a low income, I'm having trouble qualifying for $8,000 in credit," Novak said.
He's one of many college students getting caught up in the recent rate hikes by credit card companies.
You may remember that university's were encouraging students to use credit cards for tuition and books costs.
A Minnesota State Colleges and Universities survey in 2005 on student financing said 25 percent of students use credit cards to pay part of tuition or fees... 37 percent use them for books and supplies. That's only going up, said the MnSCU Student Association advocate Shannah Moore.
The reason: Rising tuition, the cap on federal student loans and the tightening of the private credit market.
So you want to give MPR News a hand in tackling college financing and credit card debt as a story? You can by telling us your story.
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Comments: 19
Now, we transfer money into her account so she can pay her fees. She has approved source student loans, too, and uses her credit cards only for small purchases. She works and pays off her balance to avoid finance charges.
I think students and parents need to be very careful about applying for college loans. Not all loans are equal. It is also wise to at least pay the annual interest on the loans.
Kat - I think that some people have made poor financial decisions for college. But if you have no way to get loans (federal money is capped, the private market is tight)... you have no way to work (think 25 hours in a 24 hour day)... what do some people do? I agree with you... we need to be responsible. But the bigger the debt for the responsible, the less they have to spend on other goods... and that goes to the heart of the economic problems in the US, no?
Winston - You're argument would have more merit if we hadn't had profligate spending over the last eight years, including off-the-books financing for the war.
The problem was the Republicans losing their core ideals and acting like Democrats when it came to spending like crazy and getting people addicted to governement programs like the Democrats do. Also, when Pres Bush went along with Pelosi and Reid for the first "print it and give it" last fall, that was the last straw. If Bush would have stood up to the Pelosi-Reid team and McCain would have had some testicular fortitude, the mess we'd be in would be less. But Bush, with Pelosi and Reid at his side, sold us down the Socialist river last fall.
Wanting something is not enough. You must hunger for it. Your motivation must be absolutely compelling in order to overcome the obstacles that will invariably come your way.
In the end, it is the person you become, not the things you have achieved, that is the most important.