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Student loans affect credit score for how long? And can I improve score while still in school?
I am 2 years into college and I am 34 years old. My credit score was never great but it was about 630 or so but now with student loans it is down to 584. Is my credit score basically screwed until I graduate and pay it off? Is there anything I can do in the meantime to help this low score? I recently acquired 2 cards with low limits I plan to use sparingly.
Thanks for any help!
Asked by
whtbullitt
1 year ago
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Though you may use the cards sparingly, make sure that you do use them each month and keep the utilization no higher than 20%. That will show usage and payments.
As to your student loans, I am not sure why they would be dragging down your score, unless you have had to make payments and you haven't kept up. The other thing that could be happening is that the loans are considered new, and as such, you took a bit of a hit.
And, recently acquiring new cards probably hit you a little, as well, as it takes 12 months for a new debt to be established, plus you likely had at least a couple hard inquiries.
It takes time to build the credit rating. You should see at least a small jump after your cards are a year old.
phnxangell 1 year ago
What's lowering your score is probably the addition of new debt more than anything (hard inquiries from the new loan and credit lines drop your score as well). This isn't necessarily bad, it will always happen when you take on debt. In the long run you will find that as long as you don't fall behind on payments (which with a student loan, chances are no payments are required until after graduation) you will be able to achieve an even higher score. The debt itself has a negative impact on credit as long as it is there, but having an open account with no missed payments will provide a slow rise in your credit and when you do eventually pay off the loan you will see your score rise much more.
bprice 1 year ago