Today’s college student uses credit cards for everything from purchasing textbooks to paying for meals. However, with a recent law change, it has become more difficult for the student to secure such credit cards on their own. Now, students have to turn to parents not only to help them to pick the right college to attend, but also to help them to choose a credit card to take with them.

Student credit cards have long been popular and college kids have come out of school with loads of debt on their backs, in some cases, because of that popularity. However, the new credit card law that went in place in February requires that those under 21 must have proof that they can pay the bill for the credit card or they need to have a cosigner to open the account. This has lead to more students turning to parents to get the help they need to get into that credit card.

Parents now have the ability to give their students permission to use credit (by cosigning for the card) or to stick the child with prepaid cards and debit cards instead. This decision is one parents are making for the first time, since most college aged kids in the past could make the decision for themselves.

Some recent information provided by Sallie Mae helps to support the importance of making wise credit decisions, even as a college student. In the spring semester of 2008, for example, 84 percent of undergraduate college students had at least one line of credit to their name.

That is up from 2004 when only 74 percent did. Further, the information stated that half of those students have four or more lines of credit, not just one. Sallie Mae also stated that seniors graduated with an average of $4100 in debt, which is up from $2900 in 2004.

This new law hopes to stem at least some of that debt accumulation by giving parents the ability to monitor their child’s usage at least for a few extra years. However, some parents have found this to be a struggle themselves as now the parent needs to be held responsible for their child’s (who is legally an adult themselves) debt. That may mean that parents are stricter about the way these young adults use credit in the future.

However, parents are also wondering a bit further about if the new system actually teaches teens and young adults how to make credit decisions that are better for their futures. One parent writes that as a cosigner on the account, this may mean the bill still goes to them rather than the student.

Will parents make wise decisions for their children? Will they help the young adult to find a better offer or better interest rate? Will the parent even be able to provide the guidance that the student needs? These are all questions that many will have to answer in the coming years as teens and young adults turn to parents to get credit card cosigns.

Aubrey Clark is an Author and editor for Direct Banc, a directory of low interest rate cards, specializing in instant student credit cards. He is a native of Destin, Florida but now lives in Atlanta Georgia since 1999 with his wife and four children.