Transcript: 6 Ways to Build Credit On Campus
By Bankrate.com

Anchor Intro: College is a place where lives change. Knowledge is gained, careers are decided upon, and credit histories are born. With the average college student now graduating with more than $2,000 in debt, it's never been more important to keep a clean credit history and a high credit score. Bankrate.com has some tips on earning extra credit.

Voice over 1: College is definitely a place where lessons are learned, both inside and outside the classroom.

SOT: "I know someone who got a credit card and thought that since there was a limit on it that it meant you should spend up to the limit and got themselves in quite a bit of trouble."

Voice over 2: Building and managing credit may not be a required class, but it obviously should be. So here's the Cliff Notes on doing it right.

Voice over 3: First, establish credit by piggybacking on your parents. Become an authorized user on one of their cards, and share their credit history -- hopefully it's good!

Voice over 4: Then get a cell phone in your name. That will give the reporting agencies something else to talk about.

Voice over 5: Now apply for a credit card in your own name. And use it occasionally even if you don't need to.

Voice over 6: Next step? Pay it off every single month. On time. Without fail. Now you're building credit.

Voice over 7: And don't forget your other bills. Rent, phone, utilities, whatever. Because anyone who fronts you money can potentially hurt your credit rating.

SOT: "Just be careful. Set your own limit. Don't go by what they give you. Know what payments you're capable of making and keep on top of that, because it's really easy to get out of control."

Standup: And one last thing: Try to keep your student loans to a minimum. Only borrow for educational expenses and only when you absolutely have to. Because the last thing you need is a bunch of debt when you graduate. For Bankrate.com, I'm Kristin Arnold.