<prompt> Human: First off let me say, Im 24 and havent been accepted into any of the schools I applied to yet. I currently have an associates degree and am moving forward for a bachelors in a different major. I should know within the next two weeks if I was accepted. I am looking to sign up for my first credit card, as in I have no credit yet. At the same time I would like to find the right company to take out student loans from. I have been doing a little research and came across the Discover It card. It comes with credit scores free and up to 5 cash back. But I seriously have no idea what Im doing. Any advice would be most appreciated.  <response>: credit cards usually require an application. you basically give your info to the credit card company and theyll decide whether they want to extend credit to you or not. there are different tiers of credit cards, which require different credit scores to qualify. the higher end ones that need excellent credit usually have lower rates and more perks. the easy ones usually have higher rates if you dont pay your balance after a certain amount of time, theyll charge you more money. if you have no credit history whatsoever, theres a chance theyll decline you. if thats the case, you can go to your bank and ask for a secured credit card. this is essentially where you deposit some money in case you dont pay your balance. so for example, you open a secured credit card with a credit limit of 1000 by depositing 1000. you treat it as a normal credit card, and if you dont miss a payment after a certain amount of time 1 year, 6 months, it varies, they will refund you your deposit, and you can treat it like a regular credit card. theyll typically raise your limit a bit when they give back your deposit. 