Credit on campus

Credit card promotions and offers are a familiar sign on college campuses these days. Along with the "freshman 15" and all night study sessions, dealing with debt has become a part of America’s college experience. The average college student now graduates with $20,400 in student loan and credit card debt.

However, according to Business Week, these college graduates may face a new challenge because of their debts. Some law and medical schools are not encouraging or requiring applicants to submit their credit data for review. A low credit score and thousands in debt could result in being denied admission:

Georgetown Law School
urges students with severe credit issues to defer for a year while
getting their finances in order. "The decisions they make today have a
cumulative impact on practicing law," says Ruth Lammert-Reeves,
Georgetown’s assistant dean for financial aid. According to Reeves, bar
examiners in states such as California and New York take an applicant’s
observance of fiduciary responsibility into consideration. The Medical
College of Wisconsin even reserves the right to deny admittance if a
student doesn’t provide a clean credit report.

The good news? Many universities and colleges are now starting to offer financial planning classes to their students. The classes teach students about credit, identity theft, debts and investing, sometimes even as for-credit courses.

Emily Peters