This week in the mail, I received yet another solicitation offering “0 percent APR for six months with no annual fees.”

Credit card companies seem to know that we, as college students, generally have no money and therefore need money now and expect to be able to pay it back later.

It seems like every day I get a new solicitation for another card.

Ahhh, the wonders of easy access to credit.

The problem is that many college students do not know how to use credit wisely.

We are bombarded with all of these offers — and they do sound appealing.

But sometimes we become dependent on credit and find ourselves trapped in a cycle of debt with no way out.

In the past, it was possible to file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, which enabled people to make limited payments to their creditors and allowed them a “fresh start.”

The problem is that when people file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7, they are essentially getting away with not paying the rest of their debt.

Instead, banks and finance and credit card companies must absorb the cost themselves. The cost is then passed along to consumers in the form of higher interest rates and greater fees for the average Joe who wants a loan.

A new bankruptcy bill, which was assured passage on the Senate floor after discussion Wednesday, will limit consumer access to this kinder, gentler bankruptcy. Instead, it will impose a test on Chapter 7 filers, requiring many to file under Chapter 13 instead, an alternative that requires a specific repayment plan. Bankruptcy filers who earn less than the median income in their state will be exempt from the test, thus protecting those with low incomes.

The overhaul will allow credit issuers to more easily collect their debts from the people who owe them, a move that helps out the average consumer by keeping lenders from passing the cost of deadbeat debtors back on consumers.

This bill marks the first change in bankruptcy law in 27 years.

In 2000, although similar legislation passed the House and Senate, President Clinton pocket-vetoed the legislation by not signing it before the end of the legislative term.

The bankruptcy reform law is necessary to curb the growing abuse of bankruptcy law and to ensure that people who truly can pay their debt are doing so without passing on the cost of their debt to other consumers.

The New York Times reported that in 1978, there were 278,000 bankruptcy filings, and last year, there were a whopping 1.6 million.

Clearly, something does not add up.

Critics claim that the law will hurt middle-income families, those recently unemployed or those with unexpected medical costs, because they will not be protected from their creditors.

Because the test, that is a part of this new piece of legislation, will only apply to those people who earn above the median income in the state, only those who truly don’t earn enough will be able to file under Chapter 7 and get a “fresh start.”

The legislation is correct in assuming that anyone who earns over the median income of the state has the capacity to file under Chapter 13 and have a repayment plan for their debt.

Though it is wondrous to have so much credit available to us in college, we must be responsible with it. Although easy to get, credit is still borrowed money that needs to be paid back.

It is important for consumers to take responsibility for what they have borrowed and not expect the rest of consumers to make up the difference through higher lending fees.