I remember that, as a student at my state college, banks took advantage of the fact that thousands of inexperienced, naive, parent-less teenages were gathered all on one campus. You could apply for a credit card and receive a free tee shirt, book bag, or some other gimmic item. Many people applied just to get the free stuff, but then did not resist the urge to use the approved credit card when it came in the mail. It seemed like free money at your fingertips. Unfortunately, the money spent has to be repaid…with interest. It seems to me we should just hand kids their bad credit mortgages application when they pick up the credit card application.