PARKERSBURG - A national study says college students in 2008 used credit cards more than ever before.

According to the study from Sallie Mae, the nation's leading writer of student loans, students used credit cards to pay for items ranging from day-to-day items to tuition and other education expenses.

Local college officials don't compile the information, but say they have not seen the increase.

Pam Dowler, executive director of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Mid-Ohio Valley, said the best advice for college students is to stay away from credit cards until after graduation.

"For many they have a heavy debt from student loans," she said. "If they have credit card debt, they may have trouble paying for both, that is why you see younger people file for bankruptcy."

Dowler said students can reduce student loan debt by living at home and going to a local college for the basic courses and then transferring to a college or university.

"Stay at home and get the basic classes out of the way," she said. "After that, transfer to an out-of-town school and maybe work part-time. That will allow you to save money by staying at home rather than going straight from high school to being on your own."

Dowler said many times students find themselves in trouble with credit cards after they get a preapproved offers targeted at those with low credit scores.

"Many of these have many hidden fees such as processing and activation and many do not read the fine print," she said. "With these, if you are even a day late, it does not matter if it's their fault or the mail, they will triple the interest rate.

Dowler said among clients of the service, she is not aware of any clients who were students who had to drop out or cut back to less than fulltime so they could work more to pay off debts.

According to the report, "How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards: Sallie Mae's National Study of Usage Rates and Trends, 2009," nearly 30 percent put tuition on their credit card, an increase from 24 percent in 2004, when the study was last conducted. In total, 92 percent of undergraduate credit cardholders charged textbooks, school supplies or other direct education expenses, up from 85 percent in the previous study. Students who used credit cards to pay for direct education expenses estimated charging $2,200, more than double 2004's average of $942.

"Too many students are at risk of overpaying for college by pulling out credit cards to pay for textbooks or even part of their tuition bill, instead of using less expensive financial aid to cover these items," said Marie O'Malley, director of consumer research for Sallie Mae and author of the study. "Students and families need to build a comprehensive budget ahead of time to cover not only tuition, but also other necessities like supplies and travel costs that contribute to the overall cost of college."

Local college officials said they have not seen anything to indicate the use of credit is increasing among students.

Jerry Burkhammer, dean of students at Glenville State College, said they have not seen an increase in the number of students using credit cards to pay for tuition nor have they had reports of more students having trouble due to over use.

"Many of our students are going to school on grants and loans, so they are not likely to use cards for school-related expenses except for maybe a few things not covered by other sources," he said.

Tom Perry, spokesman for Marietta College, said there has been an increase there, but not a large one.

"Many times a parent will have the money to pay tuition without using a card, but they may put it there to take advantage of user points on the card," he said. "When they get the bill they have the money to pay it off."

Connie Dziagwa, spokesman at West Virginia University at Parkersburg, said the college does not have the data to show if more students are using credit cards more for supplies or tuition.

"About 40 percent of our students are here on some type of financial aid," she said. "We also have no information on any students have had to quit or cut back hours because of financial problems due to credit card use."

All local colleges have bans on solicitation on campus by credit card companies and registrars will not provide documentation to show an applicant is a student. Perry said the ban on credit card vendors has been in effect at Marietta College for at least 10 years. Dziagwa said vendors are allowed on campus one day at the start of each semester, but credit card companies are excluded.

Other findings from the study were:

• Sixty percent were surprised at how high their balances were, and 40 percent said they charged items knowing they did not have the money to pay the bill.

• Only 17 percent said they regularly paid off all cards each month, and another 1 percent had parents, a spouse, or other family members paying the bill. The remaining 82 percent carried balances and thus incurred finance charges each month.

• Two-thirds of survey respondents said they had frequently or sometimes discussed credit card use with their parents. The remaining one-third who had never or only rarely discussed credit cards with parents were more likely to pay for tuition with a credit card and were more likely to be surprised at their credit card balance when they received the invoice. Eighty-four percent of undergraduates indicated they needed more education on financial management topics. In fact, 64 percent would have liked to receive information in high school and 40 percent as college freshmen.