From my head on secured credit cards
While some may already have credit cards through their parents, the allure of having their own cards is extremely tempting. University and banks have long standing relationships. Bank of America and Michigan State University, for example, have a multi million dollar contract that gives the bank access to the names of students currently enrolled. The bank gives the college money for any new coeds who get credit cards with them. Some relationships between banks and academic institutions even give bigger incentives for those student credit cards that regularly maintain balances.