How widespread is credit card use among college students? How much are they in debt?
Pick your study.
According to a recent report from Student Monitor, a national syndicated market-research survey, 41 percent of college students have credit cards. Of them, 65 percent pay their entire bills every month. The average balance for those who don't is $452.
Meanwhile, Demos, a nonpartisan public-policy group, found in a report this year that the average credit card debt among college students ages 18-24 increased 11 percent from 1989 to 2004. Nearly 20 percent were in "debt hardship," up from 12 percent in 1989.
