Undergraduates on average carried record card debt of $3,173, or 46 percent more than four years earlier. And half had four or more cards, more than necessary to build a credit history.
Some schools, such as Goucher College and the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, don't allow marketers to pitch cards on campus out of concern for students.
"We don't want to encourage [students] to have debt," says Sharon Hassan, Goucher's financial aid director. She adds the school offers money management sessions to students.
If your children are going away to school soon, start them off with a checking account and a debit card, where money is pulled directly out of their bank account with no interest charge.
After a few years of living on their own, paying bills and managing credit, they can apply for a credit card under their own name when they turn 21.
Never co-sign for them, advises Janet Bodnar, author of Raising Money Smart Kids. You're on the hook for the student's debt, plus your child can damage your credit record, she says.
Besides, she adds, students are more likely to learn money skills if they are responsible for their own debt.
Once 21-year-olds have a card and make on-time payments for six months, they will have enough of a credit history to create a score, says Watts. And when they start repaying student loans on time, those payments will further help their credit record.
