Student Credit Card

[Chun Liroy]

As someone else said, check your credit score, it has probably gotten really low just because you applied to too many cards. Those hits usually fall off after 6 months so if you can wait that long do it. Otherwise use secured credit cards. Which suck ass and as soon as your credit is high enough, get a different one.


Also note, someone mentioned going into BoA, BoA bankers have no access to the credit card system, it's a whole separate department. They can help you apply for credit cards, but the only thing that will happen is them being a middleman with you on the phone with their credit card department.

Not to say you shouldn't go to them because sometimes having a middleman is nice, just be aware of what your in for and you could be there for a long time.

Well to be clear, it's not like I went on a huge spree filling out or anything, lol. Filled out a couple in the summer, Dec and a couple like a week ago. Thanks for all the advice guys, I suppose I'll check out the secured cards. Also, what is like the baseline for credit score?

[archibaldcrane]

Creditkarma.com is a good place to start to see where you stack up - doesn't cost anything, no "signing up for credit monitoring" etc. Check it out.

The main problem here is that you don't have a job, that's why you keep getting denied.

[Chun Liroy]

I suppose, but I thought perhaps they would be a little bit more... lenient on that considering it's a student card.

[archibaldcrane]

I suppose, but I thought perhaps they would be a little bit more... lenient on that considering it's a student card.

No, that's what the recent credit card legislation was designed to do - prevent CC companies from raping stupid college students by giving them lines of credit that they had no means to repay.

[Ksandra]

Well to be clear, it's not like I went on a huge spree filling out or anything, lol. Filled out a couple in the summer, Dec and a couple like a week ago. Thanks for all the advice guys, I suppose I'll check out the secured cards. Also, what is like the baseline for credit score?

all of what you said is a little over a 6 month time span, so while you don't think that's a huge spree, it probably was as far as credit is concerned. Simply put, before you go further check your credit score and credit history to see if you really should wait or not.

[Chun Liroy]

Will do. Who needs parents? BG raises me.

[notorious bum]

Won't his efforts be futile if his purpose of owning a credit card is to apply for private loans? I mean, he has zero credit, how much credit can actually be acquired with a poor bastard like himself(same situation man, no offense) that has no income? I don't think he would be able to gain a high enough score over just a few years without making tons of transactions/bill paying each month, which would make the difference between getting that loan approval without a cosigner that has that 700 credit score that seems to be the only way to secure student loans these days.

I have never bothered with a credit card personally, I may be wrong for not trying to apply for one when it could have helped possibly(steady income, attending classes PT)? I just dismissed private loans completely after being denied even with a cosigner that had "average" credit and myself zero when I was going full time 3yrs ago.

[Ksandra]

personal loan =/= student loan.

Most places don't give out personal loans anymore because they considered credit cards a personal loan. But student loans (which is what it sounds like he wants) is a totally different situation.

[aurik]

Won't his efforts be futile if his purpose of owning a credit card is to apply for private loans? I mean, he has zero credit, how much credit can actually be acquired with a poor bastard like himself(same situation man, no offense) that has no income? I don't think he would be able to gain a high enough score over just a few years without making tons of transactions/bill paying each month, which would make the difference between getting that loan approval without a cosigner that has that 700 credit score that seems to be the only way to secure student loans these days.

I have never bothered with a credit card personally, I may be wrong for not trying to apply for one when it could have helped possibly(steady income, attending classes PT)? I just dismissed private loans completely after being denied even with a cosigner that had "average" credit and myself zero when I was going full time 3yrs ago.

You'll regret not having credit if you ever want a mortgage.

[Chun Liroy]

Also, this past semester (well, year) it was nearly impossible for me to get a private loan WITH a cosigner. I had to ask my uncle who had pretty much perfect credit to get approved by Sallie Mae. My sister has very good credit (no missed payments etc) but I couldn't get the loan with her. This is kind of like an all-else-fails type deal if I don't get a job on campus that would come with a tuition waiver. This was before apply for any credit cards etc, as well.

[Ksandra]

Also, this past semester (well, year) it was nearly impossible for me to get a private loan WITH a cosigner. I had to ask my uncle who had pretty much perfect credit to get approved by Sallie Mae. My sister has very good credit (no missed payments etc) but I couldn't get the loan with her. This is kind of like an all-else-fails type deal if I don't get a job on campus that would come with a tuition waiver. This was before apply for any credit cards etc, as well.

this sounds actually extremely weird. As I said a student loan is 100x easier to get than a personal loan. Did you go through fafsa first or go straight to sallie mae? once you get the fafsa the college takes care of the rest not you, in theory you shouldn't be talking to the loan people at all.

[Chun Liroy]

I only get $5000(2500/semester) from fafsa each year. I go to a private college, not a community college so they don't pay for anything. Not to mention the college is out of state so I lose any in state scholarships (from what I know, Florida's Bright Futures pretty much pays for the majority of college, a lot of my friends that live in state have it) and in state benefits (reduced tuition costs).

[Minions]

Saw the CC changes coming when I started college. Immediately applied for a CC (Discover) and got approved. Limit started at 500 (as I had 0 credit) and increased to 1250 at the moment. They seem to be adding 250 or so every 4-6 months or so. Glad I got the CC (pay off down to around 30-80 every month and have paid $0 interest/charges since I got the card. Collected about $60 in cash back over that time too, pretty much free money as long as you pay off the cards balance.

Thought about getting a second card with different benefits, but I keep to the $0 annual charges because ending a cc hurts your credit meaning you are stuck paying that charge for a long ass time even if you no longer use the card.

[notorious bum]

You'll regret not having credit if you ever want a mortgage.

Owning a house is pretty low on my list of priorities, but I have plenty of time to plan ahead if I were to ever get the inclination.

I still don't see how you can accrue enough credit for it to matter on a loan approval in such a short time-span on a limited income.

[archibaldcrane]

Owning a house is pretty low on my list of priorities, but I have plenty of time to plan ahead if I were to ever get the inclination.

One of the biggest drags on my credit score (which is excellent, 780+ on all 3 bureaus) is "average length of time credit accounts have been open".

For me, that's 4 years, 9 months on average.

Building credit isn't something that you just happen into - it's something you should be doing as a part of your normal financial life in an ongoing manner.

[notorious bum]

Yeah, I suspected that's an important factor on credit scores. I know I should have a credit card by now, its something I will take care of probably within a few months. I haven't bothered with it previously due to losing that steady income, becoming a starving artist, and etc. lol Situations have improved, I just haven't had the topic brought up until now, thanks to this thread lol

[kyod]

this sounds actually extremely weird. As I said a student loan is 100x easier to get than a personal loan. Did you go through fafsa first or go straight to sallie mae? once you get the fafsa the college takes care of the rest not you, in theory you shouldn't be talking to the loan people at all.

That sounds perfectly normal, actually. Private student loans are very hard to get without a co-signer now unless you have established credit. Even with a co-signer, many loan providers will turn you down if they determine your co-signer isn't as credit worthy as they like. If you applied for this loan back in late 2007/early 2008, you would have been approved. Credit crunch caused many private student loan companies to stop issuing them completely (Astrive is one that immediately comes to mind).

As for government loans, those are pretty easy to get provided you fill out FAFSA and what-not. But if you go to a private or out-of-state school, chances are your FAFSA doesn't cover all your tuition. Hence private loans.

[Ksandra]

That sounds perfectly normal, actually. Private student loans are very hard to get without a co-signer now unless you have established credit. Even with a co-signer, many loan providers will turn you down if they determine your co-signer isn't as credit worthy as they like. If you applied for this loan back in late 2007/early 2008, you would have been approved. Credit crunch caused many private student loan companies to stop issuing them completely (Astrive is one that immediately comes to mind).

As for government loans, those are pretty easy to get provided you fill out FAFSA and what-not. But if you go to a private or out-of-state school, chances are your FAFSA doesn't cover all your tuition. Hence private loans.

read what I quoted again, he tried cosigning with what he claims to be two different people with excellent credit, so it wasn't him on his own.

[kyod]

My second sentence right after what you bolded addresses your comment. His sister might have had a good score, but might not have had credit long enough. Enough of a reason to deny. As for his uncle, maybe he doesn't make enough money but has perfect credit. Enough to deny as well.

Private student loans have changed significantly since early 2008. They're difficult to get with a co-signer now as well. I have friends who started school in 06 and 07 who received student loans no problem with co-signers and all of the sudden in 08 and 09 began getting denied them with co-signers.

New credit laws and the recession is the reason student loans aren't handed out like candy anymore.

[Chun Liroy]

So I got my credit report, but freecreditreport.com wants $40 lol.

It said something about installment debt of $25004 (but has a separate section for loans and lists the same number there), is that from my student loan I took out this year? (It was 25k)
4 Different companies had received a copy of my credit report, so I guess I exaggerated with 9?