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DSU Office of Financial Aid and Student Development
offers informative session on college debt

            The Dakota State University Office of Financial Aid, together with Student Development, is offering an opportunity for students to gain access to the tools that will help them be more credit wise. On Tuesday, February 5 at 7pm in the Science Center Auditorium, “Earn College Credit That Will Last a Lifetime,” an hour informative session, will be offered to give students a head start on becoming more credit conscience.

Jill Funke, a credit counselor from Lutheran Social Services will discuss the concerns to today’s college students.

“‘Earn College Credit That Will Last a Lifetime’ was created to meet the increasing needs college students have for financial and credit education,” said Funke.

Most of us take our initial steps into the world of financial credit during our college years. Student loans, credit cards, and loans for vehicles are just a few of the ways in which we enter this exciting, but dangerous, world. During this informational meeting students will learn:

• The Cost of Consumer Credit/Debt
• How to Avoid a Credit Crisis
• How Student Loans affect Credit
• Why You Should Care

Students will learn to understand needs vs. wants, manage their money in a proactive way, realize the impact of credit on their personal lives, comprehend the costs of credit and take the initiative to reduce their dependence on debt.”

 “This is a session that is provided to DSU as a means to help reduce student federal student loan default rates, help students be more ‘credit wise’ and have more financial atomy,” said Rosie Jamison, DSU director of financial aid. 

This program was created to help meet needs illustrated by the following statistics:

The average American household with at least one credit card carried a credit card balance of $7,564 in 1999 as compared to $2,985 in 1990. Less than 50 percent of credit card users pay credit card bills in full each month. Nearly 20 percent of students have accumulated $10,000 in debt. About 70 percent of college students have at least one credit card and the average balance is more than $2,000.

In a given year, defaults on federally guaranteed education loans cost U.S. taxpayers at least $2.5 million. Average student loan debt for South Dakota college graduates is $15,000.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Lutheran Social Services has seen an increase in the number of college students accessing their services.

            “Increased credit awareness helps them make better decisions and avoid financial crisis,” said Funke. “Better credit standing offers more choices in the future and making wise financial choices helps them avoid learning ‘the hard way.’”

The number of students who held credit cards also grew significantly, from 67 percent in 1998 to 78 percent two years later. The total number of loans has increased as well to 9.3 million in 2000-01 with the average loan at $5,269 in 2000-01 according to the College Board. Additionally, more than 94,000 people under the age of 25 filed for bankruptcy in 2001 according to the Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser.