building credit history

Of course there is. Just click on my google docs link below and look for the 3 banks trick. You do need some cash money so if you don't have the required funds you might have to either borrow it from somebody or save up until you have enough. How much you need depends on how much the bank want you to have before they will do it but that really don't make a lot of difference. You get it all back except maybe $60 to $100 in the end so you really lose nothing at all.

 

Oh yes, I forgot. That one is over on my other google page.

 

What's the matter, you only have 2 banks where you live? I don't see any problem with using only 2 banks or even only one but as the old saying goes, the more the merrier.

 

There's your answer.

 

Well, I'm under 18 myself. I've been under 18 for at least the last 60 years and probably more than that depending on how far under 18 we are talking about and I've never ran into that problem. (LOL),

The answer may well be that a bank would not allow you to do that or anything else without your parents consent. That would be up to the bank.

I don't know why you are trying to establish credit prior to the age of 18 anyway because nobody is legally able to enter into any kind of contract with a minor. That includes credit card companies, most of whom are banks or subsidiaries of banks.

It has been known to happen that a bank will issue a credit card to a minor but that still don't mean it was legal for them to do that.

Although I am well aware that you want to "grow up" as fast as possible or even faster than possible, my best advice to you is to wait until you are over 18 and then you don't have to worry about such things.

If you choose to ignore that advice then about all you can do is go try to do it and see what happens.

 

As long as you don't have any federal student loans in default (which you don't), you'll be approved for one.

 

I really don't know much about student loans. Back when I first went to college I was way under 18 and there wasn't any such thing as a student loan. My parents paid for my first college degree which was a degree in religious history. The military paid for my second degree which was a degree in electrical engineering which was obtained from Swindon College in Swindon, England. That was not under the G.I. Bill because I was in the military at the time but rather was under some kind of program the Air Force had with the British Government or with that college. I really don't know which it was. I went to several tech schools after I got out of the military but paid for those out of my own pocket. I also took several college courses through the years. I took 4 years of Spanish at UTEP El Paso but went through all 4 years in one semester. I paid for that out of pocket too. Then I've had to take quite a few courses pursuant to my private pilots license as well. I've also taken several short courses in Spanish at South Oklahoma City Junior College. Through all of that and some more that I haven't mentioned and won't, I've only had one student loan and that was a loan I took out for a computer programming course. That didn't work out very well because I started the class in November, 1987 and when we came back from Christmas break the school had closed the doors and gone belly up and wasn't there anymore.

So I'm not in a position to tell you much about student loan, but based on what I've heard from others I'll have to go along with Squidzilla and say that I don't think you have to worry about establishing credit because you aren't likely to get turned down whether you have any credit or even bad credit so long as you have not defaulted on any previous student loans.

In fact, I'd advise against attempting to get any kind of credit until you are in at least your junior or senior year of college and then it might depend on what you plan to major in. I say that because what is going to make the difference is what field you plan to go into after graduation. These days what skills are in high demand today may be of little or no value tomorrow.

Take law for instance. I now wish I had decided to become a lawyer 60 years or so ago. If I were your age today I think that choice might not be such a good one because getting a job as an attorney isn't the least bit easy these days. Lots of fields are that way. A bachelor's isn't any guarantee of getting a job these days. If you have a master's or a doctorate in some highly technical field then maybe. I'm not trying to tell you that college isn't a good idea these days, but only that you need to do some really solid research rather than just jumping into something because you think it might be an interesting field. In other words, don't worry about getting credit to get an education. That's easy for young people but rather think more about what you are going to do with that credit once you get it.