College students sit together in a common room while working on laptops and a tablet.

Should College Students Have Credit Cards?

8 min read
Last Updated: January 9, 2026

Key Takeaways

  1. Credit cards may help college students build their credit history and learn financial literacy skills.
  2. If you don’t use your credit card responsibly as a college student, you may lower your credit score.
  3. College students without credit history may qualify for some secured credit cards and student credit cards.

Next steps

You may also be interested in

Share article

Was this article helpful?

Glad you found this useful. Could you let us know what you found helpful?
Sorry this article didn't help you. Can you give us feedback why?

Was this article helpful?

Thank you for your feedback

You are now on a Capital One webpage. Please be sure to review Capital One’s Terms & Conditions and Privacy Notice.