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  • Essay / The Controversial Issue of High Credit Card Debt Among Students

    Table of ContentsOpposing ViewpointSupporting ResearchPersonal Issue In recent years, students have begun to face more difficulties and challenges than never before. These problems include rising student debt, rising textbook costs, and lack of suitable parking. However, one of the major problems facing students today is the growing number of students burdened by large credit card debts. It is common at many universities, during orientation and beyond, to set aside areas where students can apply for various credit cards. Although useful and sometimes necessary for students, credit cards can lead to widespread student debt and other financial problems. Despite these dangers, students should not be prohibited from obtaining credit cards for the following reasons: it allows students to practice financial management and mature as an individual, it allows them to develop a credit score credit and this will make it easier for students who attend school away from their parents to obtain financial aid from them.Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the Original EssayOpposing ViewpointDespite the benefits of allowing students to get credit cards, support for preventing this stems from the Many dangers associated with college debt credit cards. The main opposition to allowing students to have credit cards comes from parents of students who have been negatively affected by credit card use. A group of these people even formed an organization known as Parents for the Removal of Campus Credit Cards, or PRC. (Cuse) These parents have seen their children face a multitude of tribulations due to credit card use, from spiraling debt to drug use and even suicide. To show the staggering danger this poses, many PRC members publish statistics on undergraduate students in the United States between 1998 and 2011. Sallie Mae, a company founded with the aim of helping students pay for various costs associated with college life, found that "the average undergraduate student had $3,173 in credit card debt last year, the highest level since the survey began in 1998" (Chu ). this number becomes even higher at large universities such as "Ohio State and the University of Wisconsin". (Chu) These numbers seem astonishing considering the amount of debt students already face after graduation, due to the cost of paying off student loans, housing, and more. Another worrying trend that parents of people with credit card debt often see: that the average credit card debt often increases as the student gets older. For example, “senior-year students with at least one credit card had an average debt of $4,138 per card, up 44% from 2004. In comparison, the average debt of first-year students by credit card jumped 27% to $2,038.” (Chu) This statistic can be considered particularly worrying because it shows that not only are students taking on debt, but they are also letting it grow rather than shrink. These alarming statistics regarding credit card debt among students are one of the main reasons for the push forCredit card prevention for students. Another reason why credit card use among students has recently come under criticism from parent groups such as the PRC is the negative effects it can have on the lifestyle of the student. For example, making it easy for students to get credit cards makes it easier for them to buy things they can't afford. Additionally, they may not be aware of the dangers of credit cards, such as interest and monthly payments, and therefore purchase items at an alarming rate. Many parents of students with serious debt say their student simply wasn't aware of the dangers posed by credit cards. This of course leads to other problems like students being forced to maintain part-time employment in order to pay off their debt. Due to their new financial obligations, these students may see a negative impact on their schoolwork, all because they have incurred debt due to their credit card use. Another danger of allowing students to easily obtain credit cards is that it would allow them to "ruin" their credit score (through late payments) at a time when they may not yet have reaches their full maturity, thereby affecting their long-term future for something. they did it during their studies. This credit score ruin could have far-reaching effects later in the student's life, if they were trying to purchase a loan for a home or car. These dangers largely explain the movement to prevent students from getting credit cards. Supporting Research The problems that arise from students using credit cards have been well documented, but there are also many positive effects that result from allowing students to obtain credit cards. One of the benefits of allowing students to obtain credit cards while in college is that they provide students with the opportunity to practice their financial management skills while in college. “Just like a summer job, allowing students to hold a credit card gives them the opportunity to practice spending in a real-world atmosphere. Having a college credit card gives these students a chance to mature as people and learn the value of a dollar. (Nelson) University employees as well as area legislators are making these claims to show the importance of credit cards in providing those very important lessons that one might need almost immediately upon graduation . By preventing students from being able to obtain these credit cards, it would take away their opportunity to develop this important skill. Additionally, prohibiting students from obtaining credit cards would instill in students the idea that they are still under conservatorship and therefore unprepared for life after college. This would be in complete contradiction with many of the ideas that universities try to instill in their students, such as responsibility and maturity. Therefore, by prohibiting students from getting credit cards, you are essentially robbing them of their chance to mature and develop as adults. A study by the University of California found that students with a credit card were “more than 25 percent more likely to graduate on time.” College administrators often emphasize this point when confronted with this problem because they believe that not only would this action prevent them from gaining valuablefinancial management skills, but would also create a contradictory idea of ​​what is expected of them during their university studies. Although this is one of the most discussed reasons for allowing students to get credit cards, there are also many other factors that greatly affect the lives of students. The next reason why students should not be prohibited from owning a credit card is that owning one would give them the opportunity to build their credit score. Many of those who oppose allowing students to obtain credit cards cite the danger of allowing students to accumulate credit debt, thus ruining their credit score. However, preventing students from getting a credit card also prevents them from being able to build a good credit score. If students were not allowed to obtain credit cards while in college, they would have to wait until after graduation to begin building their credit score, which would greatly hinder their ability to purchase a car, a house or any other item requiring a thorough credit check. In this way, preventing students from obtaining credit cards can actually be extremely detrimental to their efforts to obtain a positive credit score. While the issues mentioned above relate to students' lives after graduation, there is also evidence to suggest that preventing students from obtaining credit cards could have negative effects on their lives while they are still at university. The final way in which students would benefit from allowing them to obtain credit cards is that it would allow them to purchase necessary items that they otherwise would have had to wait for. This is particularly important for students from low-income families, as it would allow them to purchase items such as food and textbooks when the need arises, without having to wait for their scholarships to or their paychecks come to them in the mail. It is for this reason that the majority of students, as well as some of their parents, are adamantly opposed to banning students from obtaining credit cards. Additionally, having a credit card in case of emergency could be very beneficial for a student without substantial means of income. In an emergency, a student may be best served by having a credit card readily available if they need immediate financial assistance. This is a point that has led several parents to change their minds on this issue. This advantage of having a credit card is particularly important if the student attends a school very far from their parents. This is important because it is often difficult for parents to transfer money to their students in a timely manner. This problem would be easily solved by allowing the student to own a credit card as if an agreement was in place for parents to pay their students' credit card bills, therefore this would provide a way for students to easily obtain financial assistance from their parents. . These are some of the main reasons why students should not be prohibited from getting credit cards. Personal Issue As with anything else, whether the credit card has a positive or negative effect on students depends on the individual student. My personal stake in this question is that I am a student and in no way should students be prohibited from obtaining and using credit cards while in school. For a responsible student, credit cards can be a.