My first card I picked up as a freshman in college. I went online and picked out a rewards card that I still use today as my dedicated online purchase card. The rewards program got canceled, switched to new, that got canceled, now I'm on the third program which is also no longer available, but the account is grandfathered so I stick with it. It's basically 1-3% on all purchases that are automatically applied as partial payment for next month's bill. Quite convenient with minimal hassle.
I have been pretty good with my credit cards all this time. Only a few missed payments early on when life got busy and I still wasn't accustomed to the idea of monthly payments. The key to avoid maxing your card is the same as anything else: be financially responsible. Always keep in mind how much extra funds you have to purchase discretionary items. Always have a good idea of how much of that money you have available and how much of that is earmarked for bill payments. Simply don't charge anything to your card you cannot currently pay in cash.
I think what really makes new users fall into debt is treating credit cards as temporary floaters. Instead, as you use a credit card, mentally allocate the same amount in your checking account towards the next monthly payment. As long as you keep in mind that all charges will be paid immediately out of your current checking balance, it should serve as a deterrent to maxing the card every month. Unless you're looking at a $2-500 limit, in which case, you probably will max it out often if you use it for all your expenses.
For a college student, I would look at a Chase Freedom card as a starter. If you have a Chase checking account, you get 10 cents back per transaction (7-11 hates me) and 1.1 cent back on every dollar you charge (so does McD's). I have a grandfathered Western Mutual account, so I have literally no maintenance at all for the either one (plus perks like free international wire). Still, I believe the requirements for maintaining a new Chase checking account are fairly lax. Even without a checking account, the credit card provides rewards about on par with other rewards cards easily accessible to college students. As you become accustomed to using credit cards (aka won't drown yourself in debt) you can then look around for other cards that may have better terms or perks, either canceling your old card or keeping it to better organize finances. For example: I use one card for online, one for everyday, one for special order, one for business expenses (that one's required, really). Also makes it easier to pick out fraud if you've got long lists of charges.
Generally speaking, Chase isn't the best in terms of customer service, but they aren't entirely unreasonable. They did allow the occasional forgiveness if late with payment, just don't expect one every 6 months. My biggest gripe is their inability to properly flag my card for overseas use. It's not a deal breaker since cash is actually more convenient, but it's still annoying enough I opened an account with Citi.