You don't say whether the loan is interest free or not.

I had a small interest-free loan when I was a student for living $. Turns out I didn't need all of it, so I made payments into a mutual fund account. When I graduated, I made some interest & paid off the loan in a lump sum.

As far as gaining credit, many banks will offer a small limit credit card (on the order of $500) to students/new grads. I would suggest you get one & use it sparingly (say for gas for your car if you have one). Pay it off each month. That will give you a credit record you can refer to later.