College is the place where most of us get our first taste of financial freedom and the responsibility that goes along with it. Inexperienced with debt, college students may apply for a cash back credit card thinking that it sounds like a no lose situation. They hope to charge large ticket items or living expenses that they cannot afford to buy with cash and then receive a check for cash back at the end of the year. Unfortunately, a free credit card offer can appeal to a student for all the wrong reasons. Instead of building a good credit base and starting out responsible buying habits, a college student credit card may be used to live beyond the means of the average student. This can be a trap for students and lead to years of credit damage and negative consequences.
The college student credit card
College students receive credit card offers on a nearly daily basis. They are included in bags with new textbooks, campus purchases, and student run newspapers. Offers for a free credit card also come in the mail marked “Pre-approved”. Faced with the idea of a cash back credit card, most students are eventually lured into replying to one or more of these...