Colleges Use Student Data to Sell Credit Cards
Two public universities in Iowa—U of Iowa and Iowa State—have signed deals with their alumni associations to help them make more money off their students. The Des Moines Register reported that the two schools will be both endorsing and promoting Bank of America credit cards on their campuses, in exchange for a profit.
Hmm. A college receiving kickbacks for sales made to its students? Does this sound familiar to you?
Guess what else? It looks like U of Iowa will also be helping out with the sales by giving Bank of America access to parts of their student database. Under the agreement, the bank will be able to market to students via their mailing and email addresses and telephone numbers. The school will also be distributing the contact info of people who purchase tickets to their football and basketball games.
Credit card offers start coming at your kids left and right once they start college—you’d think it would be enough that they get bombarded with credit offers in their mailboxes, without their school joining in, too! Many colleges allow credit card representatives on campus to pitch their wares where students get enticed to sign up with the lure of free T-shirts or other gifts. U of Iowa and Iowa State are just recent examples of a disturbing trend on campus that has been occurring for quite a few years now.
Too many students graduate with large amounts of credit card debt or damaged credit scores because they made uninformed decisions in college. According to Project C.A.S.H., the average undergrad credit card debt is $2,300—and that number grows to over $6,000 for grad students. More troubling, 27% of undergraduates who have cards, have high-level balances.
- 21% between $3,000 and $7,000
- 6% over $7,000
- Students double their average credit card debt - and triple the number of credit cards in their wallet- from the time they arrive on campus until graduation.
- The average student has 4.25 credit cards
Talk to your children about smart credit card use: how many cards they need, how to choose a card, where to get a card, and how to use credit wisely!
All the best,
Deborah Fox
Deborah Fox is the founder of Fox College Funding, a nationwide company that helps families find creative ways to reduce their college costs.
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Wow - this coupled with the privacy concerns over facebook etc at the moment makes for some scary advertising. Pushing our children into more debt from the start is not the answer!!