If your car breaks down while you're traveling to campus, a credit card can be a lifesaver. Booking travel arrangements, like airfare home for the holidays, also becomes easier with credit. Moreover, the credit card 'loan' you get may be interest-free for nearly a month, since most banks allow cardholders a grace period to pay the balance. A credit card also serves as a form of identification, even if you don't use it for charging things. And if you always pay the balance on time you establish a good credit record, which is critical for making future large purchases.
Large balances can build up quickly.
You may suddenly find it takes all your extra cash just to make the minimum payments. And credit is an expensive way to finance an education. This will keep you from 'maxing out' several cards at high interest rates. Read the fine print. Look for the card with the lowest annual fee.