College students struggle with financial literacy, study suggests

Tori Brigham
March 5, 2013

College students slammed with credit card debt must learn how to properly deal with their finances before debts and poor financial habits begin affecting their futures, according to a study released Wednesday.

“The banks recognize that there is a freshman clientele on campus,” said Daryl Graves, a College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate academic administrator. “Basically they’re encouraging kids to use their credit cards, and every month they just pay their minimum fee, which doesn’t cover interest. Kids have to be careful how they manage their financial decisions.”

Graves said he does not believe student debt accumulation is inescapable and freshmen need a “refresher” on responsibility when without supervision for the first time, especially on an urban campus.

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Heard Off the Street: Excitement ebbs for Michael Baker

Len Boselovic
March 3, 2013

Michael Baker's stock has calmed down in recent weeks as excitement over a possible bidding war for the Moon engineering services company has subsided.

Baker shares finished Friday at $24.24, a penny below the unsolicited $24.25 per share all-cash offer an Alexandria, Va., private-equity firm submitted to Baker in mid-December.

DC Capital Partner's bid -- and speculation by another shareholder agitator who suggested that it was a "strong possibility" that Baker could be sold for more than $30 per share -- sent the stock to a Jan. 29 closing high of $25.77.

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Financial Attitudes: College Freshmen Concerned about Debt, but Keep Charging Ahead

March 6, 2013
Donald Liebenson

Nearly one-fourth of college freshmen feels others would be horrified if they knew about their spending habits:

More than three-fourths of college freshmen worry about debt, but their financial attitudes and behaviors are counterproductive to a secure financial future, according to a new report.

Twenty-eight percent of college freshman have at least one credit card, according to “Money Matters on Campus: How Early Attitudes and Behaviors Affect the Financial Decisions of First-Year College Students,” a study conducted by EverFi and sponsored by Higher One, released Wednesday.  Of these students, 35 percent make only the minimum credit card payment, while 8 percent have been late on a payment in the last year.

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