[Chris Hibner]

Katy,

This is really a question that you have to answer yourself. You have to look deep inside and truly ask yourself, "if I have a credit card, am I responsible enough to use it only if I can pay it off at the end of the month?" If you can truly answer 'yes' to that question, then get a credit card. If you have a slight feeling that you can't trust yourself, then you might want to hold off until next year and ask the same question at that time.

Here's another way of thinking about it: if you have $100 (either in your pocket or in your bank account), do you find that you immediately find a way to spend it, or do you think to yourself, "I don't really need anything right now, I guess it would be better to save it for when I really need it". ? If you fall into the latter category, then you have shown the proper responsibility needed to get a credit card. If you fall into the former category, you should hold off on the credit card and spend your freshman year practicing responsible spending habits.

Good luck.