Hightower Lowdown

It’s that time of the year
again when college kids
return to campuses all
across the country. It’s time
once more for school colors
and keg parties and . . .
singing up for credit cards.
A bevy of credit-card hustlers
now prowl campuses
during opening week, hawking
their plastic to the hoards
of teens loose and on their
own for the first time.
The banks hire comely
students to peddle the
cards, which often feature
the college mascot. T-shirts
and other trinkets are offered
to signees, along with come-ons
about no fees, fixed low interest
rates, and boundless
credit.
And, sure enough, too
many kids quickly run up
serious debt. A recent study
found that 78% of undergraduates
have at least one
credit card, and the average
balance is nearly $3,000.
Many of these students
also get a quick lesson in
how things really work in
today’s Corporate World. For
example, Fleet bank offered
a card with “no annual fee,”
then added a $35 annual fee
anyway. And a Fleet “fixed
rate” of 8% interest soon
rose to 10.5%.
The scam, of course, is in
the teeny-tiny dense print of
the cardholders. agreement,
which says in convoluted
legalese that the company
can change the terms of the
deal at any time.