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College students navigate a maze of offers
Nise's Notes
by Denise Schoppe
The Marlin Democrat
August 17, 2005
Public schools are gearing up for another school year. Many will start this week; some start next week. Colleges and universities have a little more time before classes resume for the fall semester.
However, students are already slowly migrating back to their second homes of dormitories, apartments, duplexes, etc. There are back to school parties to hold and attend, and there are many tasks that have to be done before classes start. Student IDs will be needed, classes need to be paid for, and books should be looked into being purchased.
I remember going up to school a few days before classes started, and then the whole first week of classes. There were tables upon tables set up for organizations to join. Right along side those organizations, camped outside every parking garage, and on every major intersection on campus there were three types of "vultures."
First came the big city newspaper subscriptions. "Come subscribe to our paper and we will give you a special lower rate for students. All we need is an address and money!"
Uh huh. Both times I never got a single newspaper delivered to me. There was always some excuse why they couldn’t send them to me, and yet they always kept my money.
Beside them sat the cellular phone companies. "Everyone needs a cell phone! Just come talk to me and I’ll give you this handy-dandy flashlight!" Even if you walked by talking on a phone, they would stop you and try to get you to switch to their service. I really wish I were kidding.
Right beside the cellular phone company was the credit card offer. (These guys even showed up to football games and stalked people at the concession stands!) Now, not many college students can resist the lure of their own plastic with their own name on it. There was the free t-shirt just for applying, but really it is about the lure of "free money."
Just like the cell phone, everyone needs a credit card, right? For in an emergency.
Soon that plastic starts to burn a hole in the student’s wallet. Concert tickets, CDs, a meal at McDonalds. Before long, that emergency credit card is maxed out... and along comes another semester and another t-shirt.
It’s a trap that so many fall into as they enter college. Not only do they leave after four years of schooling with a diploma, they also leave with thousands of dollars of debt and no way out.
It’s a common problem and very hard one to avoid. Yes, there are those students who do indeed keep the card for emergency purposes only. There are those that turn them down completely! However, a good portion of today’s college graduates are left with not only student loans to pay off after college, but also credit card debt. Some end up even filing bankruptcy in their 20s, an action that has irrevocable consequences for years down the road.
As college students head back to their schools, they will face the gauntlet of credit card offers, subscriptions, cell phone offers and any number of other things taylor-made for the young and ambitious. Their first exams come in that first week as their will power is put the test. Hopefully they can hold out against those "good deals" because they’ll be better off in the long run.
Nise's Notes
by Denise Schoppe
The Marlin Democrat
August 17, 2005
Public schools are gearing up for another school year. Many will start this week; some start next week. Colleges and universities have a little more time before classes resume for the fall semester.
However, students are already slowly migrating back to their second homes of dormitories, apartments, duplexes, etc. There are back to school parties to hold and attend, and there are many tasks that have to be done before classes start. Student IDs will be needed, classes need to be paid for, and books should be looked into being purchased.
I remember going up to school a few days before classes started, and then the whole first week of classes. There were tables upon tables set up for organizations to join. Right along side those organizations, camped outside every parking garage, and on every major intersection on campus there were three types of "vultures."
First came the big city newspaper subscriptions. "Come subscribe to our paper and we will give you a special lower rate for students. All we need is an address and money!"
Uh huh. Both times I never got a single newspaper delivered to me. There was always some excuse why they couldn’t send them to me, and yet they always kept my money.
Beside them sat the cellular phone companies. "Everyone needs a cell phone! Just come talk to me and I’ll give you this handy-dandy flashlight!" Even if you walked by talking on a phone, they would stop you and try to get you to switch to their service. I really wish I were kidding.
Right beside the cellular phone company was the credit card offer. (These guys even showed up to football games and stalked people at the concession stands!) Now, not many college students can resist the lure of their own plastic with their own name on it. There was the free t-shirt just for applying, but really it is about the lure of "free money."
Just like the cell phone, everyone needs a credit card, right? For in an emergency.
Soon that plastic starts to burn a hole in the student’s wallet. Concert tickets, CDs, a meal at McDonalds. Before long, that emergency credit card is maxed out... and along comes another semester and another t-shirt.
It’s a trap that so many fall into as they enter college. Not only do they leave after four years of schooling with a diploma, they also leave with thousands of dollars of debt and no way out.
It’s a common problem and very hard one to avoid. Yes, there are those students who do indeed keep the card for emergency purposes only. There are those that turn them down completely! However, a good portion of today’s college graduates are left with not only student loans to pay off after college, but also credit card debt. Some end up even filing bankruptcy in their 20s, an action that has irrevocable consequences for years down the road.
As college students head back to their schools, they will face the gauntlet of credit card offers, subscriptions, cell phone offers and any number of other things taylor-made for the young and ambitious. Their first exams come in that first week as their will power is put the test. Hopefully they can hold out against those "good deals" because they’ll be better off in the long run.
