{"id":48119,"date":"2024-09-24T14:03:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T19:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=48119"},"modified":"2024-11-04T16:22:19","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T21:22:19","slug":"how-to-build-excellent-credit-as-a-college-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/09\/24\/how-to-build-excellent-credit-as-a-college-student\/","title":{"rendered":"September | How to Build Excellent Credit as a College Student"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s not as hard as it might seem to build excellent credit as a college student. It starts with being responsible about your balances, timeliness, and borrowing power. ACC\u2019s Student Money Management Office partners with the University Federal Credit Union (UFCU) to share helpful tips to help you build your credit.<\/p>\n

A Message from University Federal Credit Union<\/strong><\/p>\n

This fall, countless students will enter college for the first time. It\u2019s an important and exciting time in a person\u2019s life. You\u2019re just turning into an adult, and the world is at your fingertips. College is a great opportunity to make connections and build your network, but it\u2019s also the perfect time to get your adult life started on the right financial foot.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, many college students don\u2019t learn about personal finance in high school. It\u2019s a topic that is often overlooked in schools and even in homes. So, when you go to college, it can be a challenge to track your expenses or know how to build credit. Consider these basic tips for starting to build good credit once you start your college career.<\/p>\n

Good Credit Is Important<\/strong><\/p>\n

This may seem obvious, but many people inexperienced in the world of finance may not realize just how important good credit is. Having good credit will become important when you\u2019re ready to make large purchases, such as buying a home or a car. Your credit score proves to potential lenders that you are a reliable borrower. The higher your score, the more likely lenders are to offer you a loan at a good interest rate. How do you get good credit? Read on.<\/p>\n

Beware of Credit Card Balances<\/strong><\/p>\n

For years, people believed that you needed to keep a balance on your credit card in order to get a good credit score, but this is not true. Having a credit card is fine, and opening one can even help raise your credit score because it increases the amount of credit you have available. However, you should always pay off your balance. Credit cards often come with high interest rates, so leaving a balance on your card could mean paying more in interest over time.<\/p>\n

Pay Your Bills on Time<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t pay your bills on time, even if it\u2019s something as simple as a library late fee, you could be reported to the credit bureaus. Once a credit bureau knows you\u2019ve been late on a payment (whether it\u2019s 30 days or 90 days), your credit score can drop. As a college student, you might not have regular bills like a mortgage, but you might have a car note, a credit card bill, or even a cell phone bill. You\u2019ll need to pay all of these types of bills on time, every time to avoid a drop in your credit score.<\/p>\n

Be Knowledgeable About What You Borrow<\/strong><\/p>\n

Part of becoming an adult is setting yourself up for future success. This includes being hyper-aware of what you borrow. If you take out student loans for your college education, be sure that you know the full amount you\u2019re borrowing. Remember, even if you don\u2019t have to pay it back and make timely payments right now while you\u2019re in school, you will have to pay it back at some point. Reducing the amount of debt you have in the future will help you pay off your loans faster, which can help you improve your credit score over time.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, you can build excellent credit as a college student. It starts with simply being responsible about your balances, your timeliness, and your borrowing power.<\/p>\n

Want to learn more?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Connect with ACC\u2019s Student Money Management team<\/a> to access tools designed to support you or to find a schedule of events and workshops that can help you with your personal finance questions.Want more from UFCU? Visit your local branch<\/a> anytime to chat with a Personal Financial Representative.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not as hard as it might seem to build excellent credit as a college student. It starts with being responsible about your balances, timeliness, and borrowing power. ACC\u2019s Student Money Management Office partners with … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3930,"featured_media":48196,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,13,15,17,1],"tags":[2918,2090,2787],"class_list":["post-48119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-and-community","category-current-students","category-facstaff-news","category-news-and-announcements","category-updates","tag-credit","tag-ufcu","tag-ufcu-tips"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}