[deonk1]

Hey Brit, I went through the same thing. I ended up having to pretty much pay cash for my degree cause the banks wouldn't loan me any money for tuition.

First I would get a credit report, I got mine and realized there was an error in it, once I fixed that it helped.

Also get a credit card, usually banks have student visa cards, it doesn't need a big limit, but that will help. When you get a credit card make sure that the companies DO NOT increase your limit without your permission. Each time you "apply" for credit it takes a hit on your score, and makes it harder for you apply for other stuff.
There are some mixed opinions on the best way to get your credit actually building. Some say you need to continually pay it back immediately, some say that you should make your minimum payment then wait until a day after the due date so that it comes up on their records, and then you pay it off the day after. Personally I like the pay it off immediately method. I don't really think it makes a difference. The other type of credit you could apply for is simple overdraft on your bank accounts, use it once or twice and pay it back, that'll help get you on the map.

What I did was just go around to all the banks until I found one that didn't require a co-signer and had a small limit. These banks are likely to approve you.

Good luck... building credit sucks. It took me 4 years of only having credit cards before the banks would allow me to get a line of credit.