With an unstable job market and increasing college costs, it’s a hard time to be a college student. It’s no wonder credit card companies’ aggressive on-campus marketing campaigns appear so enticing to students. A U.S. PIRG survey of 1,500 students at 40 colleges in 14 states revealed the following:

-2/3 of college students have at least one credit card.

-55% use their credit card for daily expenses.

-Average balance for students with no parental help = $1,301

-Average balance for senior students = $2,623

Granted, student credit card debt is nothing compared to student loan debt. However, the credit card debt certainly won’t help pay off the student loan debt or establish financial stability after college. Furthermore, experts say accepting credit that is essentially unaffordable in the college years marks the beginning of a highly damaging pattern of behavior that contributed to the recent housing crisis.

Silicon Valley’s Mercury News cited 19-year-old Holly Jackson as saying she feels overwhelmed by her credit card bills and may need to pick up a second job.

“I’m learning my lesson,” she said. “After I pay these off, I don’t plan on getting more. They’re awful.”

Undeniably, credit card companies themselves are not without fault. Their aggressive and misleading on-campus marketing campaigns have been legendary. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) recently proposed a bill that would require consumers under age 21 to “opt in” before they could be the target of credit card solicitations. Additionally, universities are stepping in to provide personal finance education. These are certainly steps in the right direction.