Student credit score

As a student you’re given a credit score the same way as everyone else and it is dependent upon many things including previous loans, overdrafts, bank fines etc.

How to improve your credit score

Credit scoring software looks at five areas of your credit reports:

• Your Payment History
• Amounts You Owe
• Length of Your Credit History
• Types of Credit Used
• Your New Credit

You can improve your credit scores by taking a close look at your credit reports and charting a plan of action to improve them.

Improve your bill payments

• Pay your bills on time, late payment of bills will lower your score.
• Get up to date with you bills and stay that way.
• IF you know you’re not going to be able to pay a bill on time then contract your creditors and see if you can negotiate a way of keeping the late payment off your credit report.
• If you run in to serious problems then seek out a non profit credit advisor, don’t be tricked by quick fix cowboys.

Don’t take on unnecessary debt

• Keep your credit card balances as low as possible. If you have a lot more debt than you have credit then this will effect your credit score.
• Moving debt around will not improve your score, you need to pay it off.
• If you have bank accounts that you no longer use then don’t close them as a zero balance may help your score.
• Don’t open new accounts as a quick fix as this can lower your score.

Length of Your Credit History

• You can’t do anything other than wait for this to improve.

Manage New Credit Wisely

• Several credit inquiries during a short period means you are attempting to open multiple new accounts, and that lowers your credit scores.
• Credit scoring software usually recognizes when you are shopping for a single loan within a short period of time, such as a home loan. If multiple inquiries are necessary, have them pulled as closely together as possible.
• Checking your own credit report does not affect your scores.
• Do try to open a few new accounts if you've had credit problems in the past. Pay them on time and don't max out your credit limits.

The Types of Credit You Use

• A mixture of credit cards and installment loans, loans with fixed payments, can help raise your score if you manage the credit cards responsibly.
• The balance on installment loans remain the same until you have paid off the loan in full so don’t have too many of these.
• Don't open new accounts just to have several accounts or to attempt a better mix of credit.
• Closing an account doesn’t wipe the account from your credit history so if you have mistreated an account it can still affect your score even if it has been closed.