Junior year of high school, students are flooded with college brochures. Freshman year of college, and in come the credit card applications. This is the time– it seems– to start using a credit card.

Forty-two percent of college freshman have a credit card, according to a study by the Nellie May Corporation, a leading loan provider. By graduation, 91 percent have at least one credit card, and the average number of cards per student is four.

Should students be building their credit in college, or is it a wise move to wait? How much do they ultimately benefit from having a credit card, and why does society seem to be so keen on them having one?

Ithaca College sophomore Christine Mirabito only uses her “credit card for convenience purposes and emergencies.”

Instead of carrying around cash or checks, a thin plastic card the size of an ID supplies all the financial support needed. It’s simple: Buy now, pay later; as long as you don’t spend more than you make, you’ll be fine. Use it well, and you build a credit reputation – giving financial support later on in life, when looking for an apartment or a job.

But why start now? For the most part, students aren’t financially stable. It’s not uncommon to live paycheck-to-paycheck, buying books over clothes, and eating Ramen noodles instead of going out- all the while having student loans hanging over your head.

In this situation, a credit card can easily become a financial safety net: buy what I need now, and pay later when I can. Better judgment would say that most students aren’t in the position to build a good credit score.

“Money just goes…I don’t know where but it does, and I really have a hard time keeping track of it, no matter how hard I try to keep track of it online,” says Veronica Tornini, a sophomore at the University of Virginia. For now, she’s wisely decided to just stick with a debit card.

In “Credit Card Nation,” RIT professor Robert D. Manning notes how bad credit frequently results in student bankruptcy, job rejections, and– in some extreme cases– suicide.

So why are students pressured to apply for a credit card? Oren Milgram, director of student affairs for studentmarket.com, explains that “the student demographic is important to credit card companies, as they are trying to develop lifelong consumers during very impressionable years.” So don’t be fooled by the special student offers, like free merchandise.