Trees Full of Money: Credit Card Companies Peddling On My College Campus

I wanted to share my "introduction" into the world of credit cards and debt.

I had just turned 18 and was a freshman in my first semester of college. One day, I was sitting in my dorm room when my roommate came in and said “hey man, did you get your free t-shirt and CD over at the cafeteria? They’re giving them away if you sign up for a credit card.”

“You can sign up for a credit card in the cafeteria?” I asked, completely ignoring my roommate’s original question. “Don’t I need to have a job before I can do that?”

“No, not when your in college man”, he said assuredly. “They understand that college students need the security a credit card offers and that if you get into a bind, mom and dad will be there to help cover the payment. They also know that in a few years you’ll be making the big bucks with your college education and will be able to pay back your debt.”

Hmmm…it sounded logical to me being a naive teenager, so I headed on over to the cafeteria to see for myself.

Sure enough, there was a booth set up in the lobby of our colleges newly constructed student services center with a big banner across the top the read “Apply for Your Citibank Student Visa Card Here”.

“Where do I sign up?” I said, to the slickly dressed associate behind the table full of youth targeted Citibank Logo’d T’s, CD’s, watches, and teddy bears.

“Here you go sir.” He said, as he handed me the short, 1 page application. “Have you ever applied for credit before?”

“No Sir, I haven’t.” I said.

“Oh, don’t worry, there’s nothing to it. Just fill in here, here, and here.” He highlighted the important areas with a highlighter. "Your making an excellent choice to sign up today, a credit card is a great way to build up your credit."

“What do I put under occupation, and salary?”

“Oh, just put college student under your occupation. THEY understand." He said quite matter-of-factly.

By “THEY” I’m assuming he means the credit card company's approval department.

“Have you given any thought as to what you would like for your free gift?” The associate politely asked.

“I guess I’ll take the CD” I liked a couple of the bands that I saw on the back of the "Box of Rocks" CD. The CD featured "post-grunge" alternative rock songs popular to highschool and college kids at the time.

“OK great! I’ll let you have a t-shirt to if you tell all your friends to sign up for a card as well, I’ll be here until 8pm”

“Sure thing, thank you Sir!” I said.

Weeks went by and I had forgotten all about my card. Then one day I received a letter in the mail from Citibank complete with my shiny new Citibank Visa card with an approved credit limit of $500.

I couldn’t believe it! Immediately, I called the 1-800# on the back to activate my card! Within a few minutes of receiving my card, a friendly voice on the other end of the activation line proclaimed “Congratulations, your card has been activated!”

Though I tried not to show it, I was extremely proud of myself for being “adult enough” to have my own credit card. I remember occasionally pulling out my card every so often just to admire it. I would think “Cool, I can’t believe I have my own credit card now”.

It was a few weeks before I actually used the card. Then one day, I was hanging out with some friends and we ended up at a popular chain pizza restaurant. For no apparent reason when the bill came, I proudly pulled out my card and said “I’ve got this”.

And so began my journey as a participating member of America's debt addicted society.

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