College turns ID card into credit card

Although plans in place through the Credit Card Act which passed through Congress earlier this year were aimed at making it harder for credit card companies to target students, one California college appears to be making it easier, which could lead to the need for credit card counseling for some students.

The Stanford Daily, the student newspaper for Stanford University, reports that students at the school are now able to make purchases at a number of places on campus with their ID card. Although the card only allows students to purchase up to $1,000, it eliminates the previous plan which worked as a debit card of sorts.

Now, students who make purchases on their ID card at campus eateries, the bookstore and a number of other locations, will see the charges add up on their university bill which must be paid at the end of each quarter.

Although many students appear to be in favor of the plan, not everyone is on board. Leslie Johnson, a freshman at the school, called it "dangerous."

"More often than not, parents aren’t able to approve this spending and are sometimes paying for it," she told the paper.

Many recent college graduates start their careers already in the hole because of debt. A recent study from the College Board found that grads at public institutions for the 2007-2008 school year had a median debt level of $17,700 while their private college counterparts had a median level of $22,375.