01/19/08 09:37 Age: 3 hrsBY: WORLD REPORT
KIMBERLY PALMER

Credit card debt is rampant on college campuses, right? Maybe not. Recent survey data suggest that students’ credit usage has declined over the past decade, along with average credit card debt. Possible reasons include better education, greater use of debit cards, and the shifting of debt to student loans. Here’s a look at the trends:

Fewer students own credit cards. According to Mintel, a research firm, credit card ownership for 18-to-24-year-olds dropped from about 50 percent in 2002 to 40 percent in 2006.

Debit cards appear to be replacing them. About 65 percent of full-time students at four-year colleges have debit cards today, versus 30 percent a decade ago, according to Student Monitor.

Average credit card balances may be declining. Student Monitor found that about 35 percent of students carry a balance on their credit cards and that the average monthly balance is $559, down 11 percent from 2006’s $625.

Graduate students’ debt is growing. The average balance on graduate student credit cards is $8,600, up 10 percent from 2003, according to Nellie Mae, which looked at students who applied for its education loans.

Student loan debt is growing. The average student loan debt for those graduating from a four-year public college in the 2003-2004 school year was $15,500, according to the College Board, up from $8,800 in the 1992-1993 school year, as measured in constant 2003 dollars. Robert Manning, author of Credit Card Nation, says that many students may use student loan money to pay down their credit card balances

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