Southwest Rapid Rewards: 16 points equals a standard reward (roundtrip with blockouts).

1 point per A to B flight (connections dont earn more.)

8 round trips equals those 16 points. You get a few points jsut for starting an account and as a student you earn twice as many points, so 4 round trips.

Southwest Visa gives you 8 points (halfway to a roundtrip reward) after your first purchase and you can transfer balances to earn up to 8 more points.

So if you open a Southwest Visa, get the student account, you're quite likely to just need 1-2 flights to earn your first Standard Reward.