One of the first things freshmen will notice about campus is the brickyard. As a gathering point, there is always something going on. It might be Brickyard Gary trying to sell his particular version of Christianity, an activist club trying to get your support, or more commonly, a credit card company vying for your soul.

The first thing to realize, if you haven’t already, is that the credit card companies don’t care. They are businesses and they are in this world to make money. Convincing you to get a card is just a smart business move for them.

What are they pawning off? Usually they call them student cards to make you feel more comfortable. They advertise low introductory rates and no fees for six months. Of course they don’t like to bring up the fact that the interest rates will balloon to 20% and that the finance fees are ridiculous after the introductory period.

Statistically, our age group is very irresponsible with money; especially freshmen who are getting their first taste of freedom. Credit card companies know there is a good chance that you will run up huge balances and miss a payment. This gives them the chance to charge you unbelievably high interest rates and fees.

We are young and naïve, so it does not take much to convince us to sign up for one. In the brickyard, they sit at their tables with some kind of gimmick to get you to walk over. Then they offer a free t-shirt or something even cheaper; just enough to get you to sign up. Many people think that they will just return home and cancel the application, but they forget or the company mysteriously forgets to cancel the card and later one comes in the mail.

But they don’t always get you on campus. Most of the upperclassmen have seen the signs around campus. They go something like this, “Free Pizza at [Insert Pizza Place Here]” and then at the bottom in small writing, “Some restrictions apply.” Those restrictions are usually that you must sign up for a credit card. The credit card companies know that for an investment of three dollars, they will usually get a huge return.

If you have just been to the bookstore, I’d like you to take a look at the papers in the bottom of the bag. You will find many credit card applications that are not good deals for students. NC State actually promotes this type of solicitation and the credit card companies reap the benefits.

When they do get you into a position to sign up for a card, there are a few tricks they use. If you get financial aid, they will tell you to put down your expected expenses as your income, even if every cent is going to other things and you have no discretionary spending. This allows them to give you a larger line of credit and increase their profits if you default.

Now if you get one of these cards with high interest and fees there are a lot of bad things that can happen. Like I have said, you can end up paying a lot more for what you buy. But the more dangerous aspect is what it can do

to your credit. More credit cards with missed payments can lead to low credit scores. It will be harder to make major purchases. It might even make it more difficult to get a job. Many employers are now checking credit scores to determine the quality of a candidate.

So is getting a credit card automatically a bad idea? Well, no. A credit card can help you build credit for later when you want to purchase a car or a house. Everyone should probably get one at some point and use it for small purchases once a month, then pay it off. But you need to get it for the right reasons after a lot of research – not off the spurious, self-interested recommendation of a credit card marketer.

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