Paying for college happens on two levels: there is the tuition payment, which is usually made once per quarter or once per semester, depending upon the institution. Tuition may be paid by parents, the student, or a financial aid organization such as a bank or grant authority.
Then, there are the myriad other expenses that have to be covered just for the student to be able to get by day-to-day & month-to-month while in college. These include food, rent, books, school supplies, computer equipment, and - of course - one's many social engagements.
To handle payment for many of these ongoing expenses, many college students have traditionally chosen to use a combination of credit cards and cash. Unfortunately, the use of credit cards by university and college students has led to some widespread credit card debt problems among students. For example, a Sallie Mae foundation study found that the average college student carries about $4,100 in credit card debt upon graduation.
Students tend to get stuck with high-interest rate cards, and they are usually hit with a number of fees that older adults are not saddled with to the same extent.
Partially as a result of these problems, new U.S. legislation (as of February 2010) now limits the extent to which credit card companies can market to people under the age of 21. And, for students under 21 who want credit cards, they are now required to have a cosigner.
An alternative to using credit cards for ongoing expenses is the prepaid debit card. These cards, which carry the symbols of credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, look and act like credit cards. They can be used wherever these major credit cards are accepted. However, they are different because, as the name implies, the balance is prepaid. This is an excellent way to automatically limit how much a student can spend. Another benefits to the prepaid cards is that no application or credit check is required to get one. And, they can be refilled online (by the student or his/her parents).
A solution to which card is better: consider having your parents cosign for a credit card for use in emergency situations. Meanwhile, use the prepaid debit card for day-to-day transactions.
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Interested in getting a prepaid debit card to pay for your college expenses? Find out more at: Prepaid Debit Card Deals.
