Students are using credit cards for everything from copies to coffee to clothes, but the sneaking debts can skyrocket and even force students to drop out of school to pay them off.

The average college student in America will graduate owing more than $18,000 in student loans and another $2,740 in credit card debt, according to student loan corporation Nellie Mae.

“Students don?t read the fine print and get into trouble,” said Gabrielle Self, supervisor of the Student Financial Services Office.

Self said sometimes students get so far into credit card debt that they have to drop out of college in order to pay them off.

Bankruptcy filings by 18 ? 24-year-olds rose 51 percent between 1991 and 1999, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. In 1999, the same age group made 6.9 percent of all bankruptcy filings.

According to the California Public Interest Research Group, 80 percent of students have at least one credit card, and 48 percent of students have paid late fees for missing payments. Seven percent of students have had credit cards canceled due to delinquent payments.

A survey of Sac State campus businesses including Round Table Pizza and the Copy Graphics Center revealed that approximately 45 percent of student purchases are paid for with credit cards.

Brian Castaneda of the Copy Graphics Center said he has seen students charge as little as 15 cents for copies on their credit cards, but he added that most students don?t carry cash and a lot of them use ATM check cards.

Six of seven students interviewed possessed one or two credit cards in addition to carrying student loans.

According to a pamphlet put out by the university?s Financial Services Center, it takes 15 years to pay off a starting balance of $2,500 at 17.9 percent interest if only the minimum payments are made.

The Center makes presentations on financial management to new students at orientation, including how to choose and use credit cards.

Self said her office also goes with Outreach Services when they visit local high schools to educate students about financial management.

The tentacles of the credit world even reach down to high school students through application mailings, Self said. She doesn?t know how the credit companies obtain the addresses of high school students.

The Student Financial Services Office offers workshops twice a month on money management. Workshop reservations can be made by calling 278-6190 or by dropping by the Student Financial Services Center in Lassen Hall, room 1003.