Why wouldn’t I be approved for a student credit card?
I have almost zero credit history but I thought that wouldn’t matter since it is a student card. I do have a full time job and a checking and savings account, yet I’ve been denied the Discover student card and the Citi bank student card. Does anyone know what they look for when deciding to approve or deny an application?

Card issuers look for some credit history. Try getting a limited credit card from your bank.
Talk to the bank where you have a checking and savings account and ask them if they offer a secured credit card. You use your savings account to secure the card.
As to why you would get turned down, it makes no sense if you are applying for a student card. You should have received something from them saying why they denied you. Just make sure they’re not saying there’s any negative info out there about you. Have you checked your credit report? The legitimate site to get your free annual copies from the 3 major reporting agencies is:
Don’t listen to all the commercials.
Good luck.
They are denying you because you have no credit. My advise is to stop applying for cards because everytime you apply they run a query on your credit and that doesn’t look good.
What you should do is try to build credit first. Here are ways to do it.
Try the Capital One Student card its easier to get approved for since most of them have an annual fee