First credit card, got some newbie questions

[Cain]

I'm a student and have been using a debit card for about 2 years. My
first credit card came in today and I have $700 in credit. What is the
best strategy to improve my credit score as fast as possible?
Obviously, I should never run into credit card debt. But should I pay
all my monthly balance at once at some specific time or should I pay
immediately after each credit card purchase? How often and how much
should I spend with my credit card each month? I am not a big money
spender and my parents give me cash anyway. I can very easily not use
my credit card at all but I'm guessing that I should use somewhere
between 0 and 50% of the credit each month just to increase my credit
score? So should I pay in full or pay a little bit more than the
minimun payment? I have heard both are good, but for 2 different
things: one, if you always pay in full you get an excelent statement on
your credit report from banks, it will also improve your credit score
or give you the best
possible; two, if you dont pay in full your credit card limit is likely
to increase as a convenience to the bank because they see possibly gain
in money from you. I have also heard that is good to have less than 50%
of the total limit charged to the credit card at a time. But what if
you have more? How badly will it affect you? or will it affect you at
all?

[dranegan]

The best way to improve your credit score obviously is to keep a
consistent flow of payments on time. Another thing you might want to
consider is the debt accumulated. For example, if you have a high
credit balance of $1000, and you charge up to $500 or higher (getting
closer to maxing your card out), that will diminish your scores.
Keeping 2 active tradelines, while paying them back on time and keeping
the balances less than 50% of the high credit should help your scores
out.