• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Bank of North Dakota

  • College Handbook
  • Blog
  • Video
  • Get Educated
  • Contact
  • bnd.nd.gov
  • Search

Managing Finances

What Every College Student Should Think About Before Getting A Credit Card.

By Amanda Woidyla

A credit card can make it easy to overspend. If you use your card, you must pay for what you buy. You don’t get a break because you are a teenager. If you spend more money than you are able to repay, you can ruin your credit score, also known as a credit rating.

Businesses may look at your credit score before renting to you, hiring you, making a car loan or giving you a credit card. Credit information will typically stay on your credit report for seven years.

As a student, you can think of your credit report as your credit transcript and your credit score as your credit GPA. The scale ranges from 300 to 850. Credit scores of 700 or more are generally considered to be good. Credit scores are based on your total debt, number of credit accounts including new credit inquiries, the age of the accounts and the proportion of credit card balance to the total available credit card limit.

Be extremely wary of the number of credit cards you take out. Even though you may get a 10 percent discount for applying for a card when you make that purchase, just applying for the card may lower your credit score. It also makes it more difficult to track the cards you are using. You may be more likely to miss payments when you have more cards.

Choose the best credit card

As a young person, you are a prime marketing target for credit card companies. Do your research before signing up for a card to get the best deal. Fees, charges and benefits vary among credit card issuers. Compare these features and select a card that fits your needs.

  • Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the yearly interest rate that includes any fees or additional costs associated with transactions. Avoid paying interest on purchases by paying your balance in full each month.
    • Grace period is the time between the date of purchase and the date interest begins accruing.
    • Annual fees are charged by many credit card issuers for granting you credit.
    • Transaction fees and other charges are added to your bill if you use the card for a cash advance, if you fail to make a payment on time or if you exceed your credit limit.

Amanda Woidyla

Amanda Woidyla is the University and Student Development Coordinator at BND, which is a long title for “I help students plan and pay for college and plan TO pay for college.” She coordinates College Application Month, North Dakota’s branch of the American College Application Campaign and REALLY likes public speaking. Outside of work, Amanda likes to ride bikes, do yoga and pet other people’s dogs.

You will also like:

Resume-Building-Stand-Out-post
Housing-On-Off-Campus-post
Tax-Time-post

Primary Sidebar

Get Educated

Sign up to get email updates

Most Popular

  • Why Choosing a College Major is Important
  • What Every College Student Should Think About Before Getting A Credit Card.
  • The SAT®: What It is and Why It’s Important?
  • 9 Tips for a Winning Scholarship Application
  • 7 Technology Tips All College Students Should Know

Categories

  • College Prep
  • College Savings
  • FAFSA
  • Managing Finances
  • Nontraditional
  • Scholarships & Grants
  • Student Loans

Bank of North Dakota

Copyright © 2023 · Bank of North Dakota

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT