A group of students in a masters accounting program recently conducted a survey across campus to see how much colleges students knew about credit cards and finances.

“We wanted to see what people know and what they don’t know,” Constance Owen, a graduate student in the program, said. “A lot of college-aged students do no know a lot about financial literacy and maybe that should be different.”

Owen said her parents handled her financials before she came to school and she knew little about financial literacy.

“I didn’t know what credit cards meant or what a credit report was,” she said. “We need to reach out to college students now. If you do something bad now that hurts your credit, it stays on your record for seven years.”

By learning how to manage their finances now, Owen said students will be more likely to make good financial decisions in the future and make money from the market.

“Right now, people don’t really know what to do with their money,” she said. “People keep talking about how bad the market is but I don’t think it should defer people from investing in the future.”

Owen also said people have misconceptions about the stock market and they don’t invest their money because of it.

“Investing in the stock market is not like a day trader,” she said. “You just put your money away. It’s a long-term investment, it’s not a day-to-day thing. People need to realize it’s going to come back.”

Because so few students fully understand finances, Owen said the University should require all students to take a finance course before they graduate.

“I took a personal finance course at N.C. State and I would recommend everyone taking it,” she said. “It talks about buying a house and your credit. You have to take responsibility for yourself and make it a priority because money affects everybody.”

Survey Questions

What year are you?

Freshman: 1.1

Sophomore: 62.5

Junior: 12.5

Senior: 19.3

Graduate Student: 4.5

On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being very knowledgeable, how knowledgeable are you about credit ratings and the credit rating process?

1: 17.9

2: 47.5

3: 25.3

4: 6.2

5: 3.1

How many credit cards do you have?

0: 42.6

1: 34.9

2: 16.6

3: 4.7

4 or more: 1.2

Which method of compounding will bear the greatest interest?

Daily: 60.6

Monthly: 4.8

Quarterly: 1.8

Annually: 13.3

I don’t know: 19.4

Many savings programs are protected by the federal government against loss. Which of the following is not?

A U.S. savings bond: 2.4

A Certificate of Deposit at the bank: 19.3

A U.S. Treasury Bond: 4.8

A bond issued by one of the 50 states: 21.7

I don’t know: 51.8

If your credit card was lost or stolen and used to charge items you did not authorize, what amount of changes are you responsible for before you report it missing?

You are not responsible for any unauthorized charges: 40.8

Up to $50: 3.6

Up to $100: 1.2

Up to $500: 1.8

All unauthorized charged: 11.2

I don’t know: 41.4

Which answer lists the investment options in order of risk from lowest to highest?

Savings account, money market fund, mutual fund, individual stock: 49.4

Money market fund, mutual fund, savings account, individual stock: 4.2

Savings accounts, individual stock, mutual fund, money market fund: 10.2

Mutual fund, savings accounts, individual stock, money market fund: 5.4

Which of the following happens when you use you credit card for a cash advance transaction?

Your grace period remains the same as it is for purchases: 2.4

The interest rate is higher than your rate on purchases: 27.2

Interest does not accrue on the transaction until the end of the grace period: 8.9

All of the above: 5.3

None of the above: 1.2

I don’t know: 55

Credit scores are used to evaluate which of the following applications?

Rental: 13.6

Employment: 0.6

Insurance: 7.1

All of the above: 63.9

None of the above: 3

I don’t know: 11.8

A credit card company can increase your interest rate when?

Your payment is late: 6.5

You go over your credit limit: 3

They merge with another company: 0.6

All of the above: 68.5

None of the above: 3.6

I don’t know: 17.9

Negative financial information (excluding bankruptcy) can stay on your credit report for?

2 years: 1.2

5 years: 10.1

7 years: 14.3

10 years: 16.1

I don’t know: 58.3

Which of the following events affect your credit score?

You request a credit report from a credit bureau: 3

A credit card company sends you a pre-approved offer in the mail: 1.2

You apply for a credit card: 19.6

All of the above: 19.6

None of the above: 30.4

I don’t know: 26.2