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GAMEGOCK University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C. Volume LXIV No. 1 Getting c hard for: By LYN ISBELL Gamecock Staff Writer College students are seldom good credit risks because few students have regular incomes, according to local bankers. However, banks suggest several ways a student can demonstrate his willingness to meet payments on time. In viewing credit applications, banks consider the existence of checking and savings accounts in the student's name. If the student has maintained an adequate balance and has not written any bad checks, creditors will view this favorably. Dean Dougherty, head of the Master Charge division at Bankers Trust, said such maintenance of funds indicates "an attitude of fiscal responsibility." Doiltfhprtv SI100Mt<vi ctuHnnto u J OD umuvniu begin by establishing credit at local department stores and making payments on time. Such accounts will help provide a good credit reference. THE STUDENT may then apply for a bank credit card, and an installment loan. Terry Darby, manager of the Gamecock office of NBSC, SAT so lowest in fifty red it students suggested the student may open a savings account with a loan from the bank. This method poses no risk to the bank and the student must only pay interest on the loan to establish credit. vvui UH15 w faiujf, 0 Siuueill can also get a loan if a friend or parent with a credit rating acts as endorser. Darby said he has been impressed with USC foreign students who have asked for loans 40 buy a cai. According to Darhv nn foreign student has ever welched on a loan or was late with a payment. DEPARTMENT STORE credit cards are easier for students to obtain than bank credit cards. Sponsored credit cards, those endorsed by a parent, are relatively easy to get. However, according to Martha Rnwnn rrpHit niinarviaAv ?? D~iu - .w V<M?? uu^Vl T IOUI Ul UCIA department stores, Belk does not have a system for sponsored credit because company policy maintains such accounts do not help young people establish their own credit. Guidelines by which Belk views credit applications include length of time on a permanent job, earnings and any other debts. ores f s 8 \ a F a f years ; 8 ? j > ? . ; i (i c' < *' i' > +a-:<<*, Twgpwnifl^g ?b :> : M:-x: ; iSl 4? ;M| ~ a mi i Coming Bac - v ^ kSj- '%ls lll*\Vjff;' <\ ,c $4? t \y CHRIS PORTER Amcffwlc Staff Ulrltar The College Board recently eleased national figures reporting he lowest SAT scores in fifty years or the freshmen of 1977. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores for 1976 freshmen at USC Iropped two points from 1975's iverage of 920, following a pattern vhich began in 1973. ARTHUR S. WEST, director of idmissions, said 1972 was the high oint for SAT scores at USC. with in average of 972. The verbal ection average was 473 while qath was 499. Scores have dropped teadily since then. In 1973, verbal and . math iverages were 461 and 485 espectively. 1974 verbal and math cores dropped to 455 and 481. In . i * a ? v i . .tun B? ijrH^ 9j E jhBP" ^ |6hm "* ^2 ft;',:, B ^M?';k B m? n B a K <. B -^^B " ''' ' ' '"V^Br.f." ". BB * jjy L K 1 > :- -1 ,-. fV, - v % - : 1975 the averages dropped to 449 and 471. Verbal and math averages for 1976 were 446 and 472. The College Board report, "College-Bound Seniors, 1977," profiles one-million students planning IU gu iu cuilt'^e. JTOSSlOie causes listed for the decline in scores were lower teaching standards, television violence, changes in family unity and turbulence in national affairs, namely the Vietnam War and Watergate. West presented his own theory for the decline. "I believe the source of the decline is the youngster who comes from the home with no experience from books, dictionaries or politics and where educational problems are not discussed, and is then tested within a group where the range of skills is much greater," he said. "All that the College Board can - i k t t i : il i i i j * 4 i ll^Bl : ^^--^Jjj^l i^^K. . ;,j^B ' K .' IBBfc > \.>> "< V in ^sf ; ~ 'X *> ? ?.%?^ >'> ': 'i Mpi I \ I & s 4| \. *" - . ' v: <V . VX ' ^ St?ph*n Mc Cor mack--THE GAMECOCK and wants to do," said West, "is maintain the quality of the test (the fsAT^ *' WncJ alon on?#l ^ 4 m w . ** vajv niou oaiu lilt" I^CSl W3y to raise scores is to attack the real source of the problem, poor kindergarten programs. IN ORDER to help below average freshmen, the university offers a number of seminars through the Communication Skills Development Center. These seminars involve improving student skills in goal setting, reading rate and comprehension, i m n m ? uiaiiagciiiciii, memory, textbook mastery, notetaking, test taking and listening. Students may enroll in the preceding seminars by coming to room 210 of the Pendleton Building. Individualized learning labs, speed reading courses, and reading and study skill evaluation tests are also available. These courses are not for credit.