Updated June 11, 2025
Your credit is incredibly important, and the earlier you start building a strong credit profile, the better off you’ll be later. While working on your credit seems like one of those intimidatingly-adult tasks — much like preparing your tax return or choosing health insurance — it’s much easier for college students to build their credit than it is for everyone else, so there’s not a lot of time to waste.
Learn what credit is, why it’s so important, and what you can do as a college student to build good credit (without racking up debt).
What Is Credit, and Why Does It Matter?
You may hear people talk about credit histories and credit scores. Your credit history is a record of your past history using credit, including credit cards and loans. It shows what accounts are currently open, what you had open in the past, and whether you make your payments on time.
The information from your credit history is used to determine your credit score, a three-digit number that reflects how reliable you are managing credit. There are many different types of credit scores; the most common, FICO, is a three-digit number between 300 and 850, with 850 being the best possible.
A high credit score helps you qualify for low interest rates on loans and credit cards, but your credit also affects other areas of your life. For example:
- Apartments: If you want to rent an apartment, your prospective landlord will likely check your credit as part of the application process.
- Utilities: When you sign up for utilities — such as electricity or water — many companies perform credit checks. If you have poor credit or no credit, you may have to pay a large deposit to have utilities turned on in your name.
- Employment: Some companies check applicants’ credit reports as part of their background checks, so poor credit can hurt your chances of qualifying for your dream job.
While poor credit — meaning you have a credit history with missed payments or defaulted loans — can hurt you, not having any credit history at all can hurt you, too. If you’ve never taken out a loan or a credit card, you won’t have a credit history, and you won’t have enough information to generate a credit score, making it difficult to qualify for loans or other forms of credit in the future.
And here’s the kicker: no credit history is almost as bad as bad credit. You’ve gotta start somewhere, or lenders won’t have any idea whether you’re responsible or not.
5 Ways to Start Building Credit in College
Building your credit is important, and as a college student, you have some unique opportunities to establish good credit now. These five tips can give you a head start:
1. Set Reminders to Check Your Credit
You can check your credit reports for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. You can view your reports from each of the three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion).
Why is this important? Unfortunately, credit fraud and errors are common, so it’s wise to check your credit report on a regular basis and review the information listed. You may find accounts listed that don’t belong to you. In general, plan on checking your reports at least once every three months.
If you find incorrect information, you can dispute those items online.
If you successfully dispute those issues, the credit bureaus will remove them from your credit reports, so you’ll protect your credit.
2. Ask A Family Member to Add You As an Authorized User
If you have a parent, relative, or close friend who has good credit, ask them to add you as an authorized user to their credit card account. By doing so, your credit report will include that credit card, giving you credit for their good habits and credit card use. The primary user doesn’t even have to give you a physical card for you to benefit; by simply being added as an authorized user to the account, you can start building your credit.
(Important: Many credit card companies allow minors to be listed as authorized users. If you’re technically a minor as you enter college, you can still take advantage of the credit boost.)
3. Open a Credit Card
Credit card companies usually require applicants to have fair credit and a source of income to qualify for a new card. But, as a college student, you have a unique opportunity: you could qualify for a student credit card.
Student credit cards have less-stringent eligibility requirements, so you can qualify for a card even if you have no credit and a small income. If you use the card carefully — using it for small purchases like gas or groceries and paying off the balance in full every month — you can establish good credit.
4. Make Your Student Loan Payments On Time
Federal and private student loans are reported to the major credit bureaus. Taking out student loans and repaying them on time will also boost your credit. Create alerts or calendar reminders to ensure you never miss a payment, or set up automatic payments (as an added perk, some lenders give you a discount for enrolling in autopay).
5. Get Credit (Get It?) For Your Rent and Utilities
Typically, only forms of credit like credit cards or loans are reported to the credit bureaus, so you don’t benefit from timely rent or utility payments. However, there is a workaround: you can use services like Self or Experience Boost to have those account types reported to the credit bureaus. Depending on your credit profile, these services could boost your credit.
Your Credit-Building Cheat Sheat
Establishing good credit doesn’t require tons of money or a full-time job. You can build the foundation now as a college student by opening a student credit card, making your student loan payments on time, and reviewing your credit reports. As you start building your credit, you can better your credit score by doing the following:
- Making all of your payments on time
- Limiting new credit applications (only apply for a loan or credit card when you really need it!)
- Keeping your credit card balances low
These habits will help you improve your credit over time.
