How Should a full time college student start to build credit when he cannot get a credit card?
Credit Card
Tim asked:
I am 18 years old and just looking to start to build my credit to not be dependent on my parents for things and as an emergency. I applied for one through my credit union, applied through one through capital one and i just applied for a student forward citi card and i got rejected from that as well. I know that it isn’t good to keep applying over and over again. What should i do?
Natalie
I am 18 years old and just looking to start to build my credit to not be dependent on my parents for things and as an emergency. I applied for one through my credit union, applied through one through capital one and i just applied for a student forward citi card and i got rejected from that as well. I know that it isn’t good to keep applying over and over again. What should i do?
Natalie
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:51 am
Stella
When you are rejected for credit the creditors must give you a reason why. Have you pulled a copy of your credit report? This may be something that you want to do. You can go to
The reason to check is that you shouldn’t have any credit, if you see anything that is an indication that your credit has been used by someone and this can be causing you to be declined.
When applying for credit, as long as all of the requests are within a 2 week time frame it will appear on your credit as only 1 inquiry.
You may want to look into a “secured credit card”. You also may want to open up a bank account (savings, checking) to establish a history.
July 26th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Alvin
My economics instructor answered this question for my class last year after several of the college students complained of trouble building their credit. First and foremost, don’t think of this as a way to not depend on your parents. That sounds as if you’re going to use it for necessities. IF YOU CAN’T PAY CASH DON’T GET IT unless it’s a true, bonafied emergency, and even then it would be better to ask your parents for a loan–where there’s no interest–than to charge it. BUT, to answer your question, the instructor said the best thing to do is apply for a gas card. Shell, Walmart, wherever you primarily purchase your gas. Each month set the money back and then pay the card in full. (very easy to do over the internet these days). After just 6 months of paying off your card and making timely payments your credit will be established enough where you can apply for credit lines.
July 27th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Jo
Check it out here. It’s an excellent site with some wonderful options for you. It will definitely help you. Have a look.
July 30th, 2009 at 1:06 am
Stephanie
I understand that you want to independent of your parents, but the best advice I can give you, is to have your parents cosign on a card for you for a year, build good credit with a company who has a good reputation, and then you can have your parents dropped from the account. It is the best way to get a card with the lowest interest rate, with the best reputation, and the highest rewards. Other card companies will take you more seriously then.
August 2nd, 2009 at 12:21 am
Janice
You have to have establish your credit before you can get credit.
Go to your local bank open an account with $300 - $500 tell them you want a secured credit card. Use the card for small purchases like gas or food and pay the card off entirely each month on time.
After a few months you can try for an unsecured card again. Retail store cards and gas cards are normally easier to get.
It takes 24 months of consistent on time payments to establish good credit history.
August 2nd, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Ana
Don’t worry. Buy your sophomore or junior year, all kinds of banks will be offering you credit cards. Sad, but true.
August 4th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Robin
Get a credit card from local bank and pay it in time. You also can use this service to avoid common mistakes while buiding credit and pre-estimate future scores for different scenarios of payments - creditreport.fateback.com
August 4th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Kathleen
just my 2 cents ( sometimes that is all you have left after owning a credit card for a while..lol.. )
best ways to build credit with no chance of ruining it by the very credit card company that might issue one:
1) be completely current and on time on all payments for the life of your first apartment lease
2) be current and on time on your utility bills ( some utility companies will even come right and offer a letter of reference as a good credit risk )
3) consider applying for over-draft protection on your checking account .. as a student or recent graduate chances are it might a credit of $ 300 or less.. but still good in may ways
4) consider saving what little cash you have after expenses and start an emergency savings fund for emergencies.. advice given by good economists says your should have 3-6 months cash reserve built-up
5) apply for a Debit card with a visa/mastercard logo on it for any purchases that require credit-card like transaction
just for what it is worth… my personal opinions about the credit card industry …
a) Credit cards don’t bring a shred of financial security or peace of mind for you and your future family
b) FICO score monitoring services and unemployment credit protection programs offered optionally by credit cards are being offered by the very people who are the primary reason why your credit would be destroyed by unemployment
c) Good Credit and FICO scores are not a part of your vital stats .. your pulse is, Cholesterol Levels are… but having to listen to credit card industry you might begin to doubt that fact
d) using a credit card is basically buying things that you cannot afford
the mortgage underwriter reviewing an application for a first-time home buyer is going to be more impressed with
1) solid employment history
2) a plus- letters of credit references from landlords, utility companies
3) 3-6 month cash reserve built up
4) fiscal responsibility shown in the 1-2 years worth of checking account statements that they ask for..