College students want limits on credit card companies pitching plastic on campus.

That’s what most of the 1,500 students at 40 colleges — including the University of Maryland, College Park — said in a survey by U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Among the findings:

 — More than two-thirds of students had one card or more. About one-third of these students said their parents paid their bills. Another third carried balances from month to month.

 — Among all those surveyed, one-quarter paid a late fee at least once,15 percent paid an over-the-limit fee, and 6 percent said their card was canceled for not paying their bill.

 — More than two-thirds of students opposed sharing student lists with card issuers. The lists contain dorm addresses, e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers.

— Three quarters of students stopped at tables on campus to consider card offers. Card issuers typically pitched cards while offering students T-shirts, blankets, sandwiches, pizza or iPod shuffle.

Card issuers target college students because consumers tend to be loyal to their first credit card. Plus, they know that parents will bail out a child who gets overwhelmed by debt.

So, when a card issuer offers you a "free" slice of pizza to sign up for a card, you can count on card companies are getting the better end of the deal.