5 Things that College Students Need to Know About Credit

By the time you’re in your 30’s (or sooner) you realize how critical it is to have high credit scores.  Sometimes you find out the hard way by getting denied for a loan or having to pay higher interest rates on a credit card, but eventually you figure out how important good credit scores are.

College students, however, are often in the dark about establishing credit and credit scores, even though they maybe be just months away from needing to utilize it.  With that in mind, here are things that they should know – as soon as possible.

5 Things College Students Need to Know About Credit

1. Student Loans Can Help Your Credit

If a student has loans in his/her name and makes on-time payments, this is a great start to building credit.  Likewise, ignoring the payments or making them late will cause credit scores to drop.

2. Negative Credit Will Haunt Them for Up to 7 Years

Students and teens need to understand that if they make late payments, have collections, or end up with any negative credit, it will stay on their credit report for years.  This could cost them money and opportunities as they begin life after graduation.

3. Their Future Employers Could Check Their Credit

Yep, when they graduate and begin applying for jobs, those potential employers can pull up a credit report and deny employment based on a poor credit history.

4. That New Car Will Cost More

What new college grad doesn’t want a shiny new car?  Well, with poor credit, they can plan on having higher payments or potentially even getting denied for financing.

5. Good Credit Could Save Them Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars

With a lifetime full of of credit usage just in front of them, understanding that higher credit means lower payments is critical for young adults.  From day one, they can be saving money on countless items if they have strong credit.  Not to mention that poor credit will lead to some stressful situations when they eventually want to buy a home or lease an apartment.

We’re Here to Help!

Our credit class for teens will teach students of all ages how important it is to have good credit, how to establish credit, how credit scores are calculated, and much more!  If you have a teenager or college student in your household, contact us for more information on how to enroll and learn more!