I remember when I opened a Chase College Checking acct at a branch they tried offering a credit card too. I stupidly thought I should give it a shot (long before I had any credit, reportable income, or real knowledge on the matter), applied for I don't even know which card, and was obviously instantly denied.
If you were approved, can guarantee it would be their lowest CL ($500). Even if you wait to have a full year of credit history, would still probably be pretty low. It looks to be a great card (I applied recently, approved for $3k... card in the mail), think you just need to hold off on it for now, don't want to waste a HP.
With Discover, over 6 statements have gone by and i've received zero auto-CLIs. I requested a CLI over the phone at the 3-5mo point and was denied (no counter offer, but I'm not sure if they do them. I also requested a $1500 or so CLI which probably wasn't very smart... should've just shot for $500). The CLI button on their website has never gone anywhere. I applied for their non-student IT card and squeeked by with a $500 CL.
If you had to do anything, I'd try for the Discover CLI first. After 6mo of owning the card, try giving them a call and ask for a reasonable CLI ($500 perhaps, maybe $1000). After having the Discover card for a year, then attempt going for the Freedom card. Try looking at Chase prequalified offers too... if you try it now and no cards show up (or just the Slate or something), then I wouldn't even try to apply yet. Try it again at a year and see if it changes... if the Freedom shows up, you might have a chance.
FICOs: TU 775 | EQ 784 | EX 773
Amex BCE $15,000 | Discover IT $11,600 | Chase Freedom $7,000 (Visa Sig) | Citi DoubleCash $6,000 (WEMC) | Chase AARP $6,000 | Barclaycard CashForward $4,000 | Barclaycard Rewards $2,000 | Capital One Quicksilver $1,750
