As with most of the rest of society, college students are relying more and more on credit cards to sustain daily living. In fact, the amount of credit card debt among students more than doubled between 1994 and 2004, according to studies.

A recent study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) also shows that 76 percent of students have credit cards, and most of them received them through on-campus marketing efforts by credit card companies.

More than half of the students – 55 percent – surveyed by U.S. PIRG said they used credit cards for “day-to-day expenses.” About 40 percent of the students said they used credit cards for “weekends and pizza,” and a fourth also indicated a credit card is sometimes used to pay for tuition.

Budget counselors such as Dr. Dorothy Bagwell Durband, director of the nationally acclaimed Red to Black financial and budget counseling program at Texas Tech University, say students should receive personal instruction on establishing credit and on responsible credit card use. For example, students should understand a credit card’s APR (annual percentage rate), as well as all the terms and conditions that determine how fees are calculated.

The bottom line is that students will continue to rely heavily on credit cards, which makes it vital to educate them about responsible use of cards and how to budget properly.

Here are some helpful credit card tips students should know: