Credit card use and credit debt among undergraduate students has increased substantially, according to a recently released study by the Credit Research Center at Georgetown University.

Of the college students who have credit cards, 32 percent have four or more credit cards and an average credit debt of $2,748, according to the study. Nearly one in four students with credit debt owes more than $3,000, and almost 10 percent owe $7,000 or more.

The study, conducted by Michael E. Staten, director of the Credit Research Center at Georgetown University and John M. Barron, professor of economics at Purdue University, observed 300,000 active accounts during a 12-month period during 2000 and 2001.

The study of credit debt of students who applied for loans last year revealed that 78 percent of undergraduate students have at least one credit card, climbing from 67 percent in 1998.

Zach Dupra (sophomore-advertising/public relations) has accumulated $3,000 in credit debt from overspending on trips, clothing, weekends and food, he said. The easy access and availability of credit cards made holding 10 or more in his wallet effortless, he said.

"My parents were paying off most of them, until they realized how deep in debt I really was," Dupra said. "Now they think I need to take responsibility and pay them off myself."

Students might get into trouble because of the temptation and the ability to get numerous cards at one time, said Marie O'Malley, vice-president of marketing at Nellie Mae, an educational loan provider. When credit card companies offer to lower rates and increase limits, cardholders need to impose restrictions on themselves, she added.

But the stories of students having to drop out of school due to increasing credit debt are the exception, not the rule, O'Malley said.

Credit cards come from a variety of sources, 39 percent from direct mail offers, the study said. Other ways to get cards are applying in person at a bank or with a company representative at an event or on campus, on the Internet, over the telephone or filling out an application in a newspaper or magazine.

Penn State is no stranger to credit card companies trying to pull in students on almost every corner. On Saturday afternoons, College Avenue is often lined with table after table of credit card companies waiting to do business.

MBNA is the world's largest independent credit card provider, and issues the Penn State credit card. Jim Donahue, a spokesman for MBNA, said his company approves less than half of the applications it gets from college students, and he said most students who are approved handle credit cards responsibly. Sixty percent of students pay on time, he said.

Credit cards are a fact of life, Donahue said, and are used primarily for buying books, paying off loans and, occasionally, buying a pizza.

"Adopting the habit of carrying credit card debt is expensive," Dean Spiridon (junior-accounting) said. "Besides the pretty girls handing out cheap gifts, it's just a hassle that, in the end, cleans out your wallet."