IMPROVING YOUR
CREDIT SCORE OR GPA
HOW DO THEY COMPARE?
CREDIT SCORE/GPA COMPARISON
Many people suffered blows to their
• credit scores (GPA)
• during the unstable economy (academic
performance) of the last few years, (semesters)
• whether because they missed payments (skipped
classes, had missing or late assignments),
• exceeded credit limits (low test scores)
• or, more seriously, experienced a home foreclosure
(academic or financial aid probation)
• or even bankruptcy (academic or financial aid
suspension).
IS THIS IMPORTANT? ABSOLUTELY!
If your credit score (GPA) drops significantly, you’ll likely
be:
• charged higher loan and credit card interest rates
(have to pay to take classes)
• offered lower credit limits (have to sit out a semester)
• disqualified for credit altogether (suspension of 1
semester to 3 years)
• And, lower scores can also lead to higher insurance
rates (student loans may come due) and harm your
ability to rent an apartment or get a cell phone (or
register for the next semester).
ACADEMIC WARNING
If your GPA drops below 2.0 you’ll likely be notified of
academic warning.
Students who have accumulated less than 60
semester credit hours with a cumulative GPA below
2.00 will be placed on Academic Warning.
You will be allowed to register for another semester to
bring your grades up.
ACADEMIC PROBATION
• Students who have accumulated less than 60
semester credit hours who earn a semester GPA
below 2.00 while on academic warning will be
placed on academic probation. They must earn a
GPA of at least 2.0 their next semester to avoid
suspension.
• Students who have accumulated 60 or more
semester credit hours who have a cumulative GPA
lower than 2.00 will be placed on academic
probation and must earn a GPA of at least 2.50 their
next semester to avoid suspension.
ACADEMIC SUSPENSION
Students who do not earn the minimum required GPA
while on probation will be suspended for a length of
time specified according to the number of
suspensions:
• - Students suspended for the first time will be
required to remain out of school for one semester.
• - Students suspended for the second time must
remain out of school for one calendar year.
• - Students suspended for the third time must remain
out of school for three years.
WHAT CAN BE DONE IMMEDIATELY?
• First, review your credit reports from the three major
credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and Transunion) to
see which negative actions your creditors have
reported and look for errors or fraudulent activity.
(Meet with an advisor to review transcripts and
‘cattracks and plan interventions.)
• You can order one free report per year from each
at www.annualreport.com. (You can check
‘cattracks and transcripts free.)
• You can also order a FICO credit score (the score
most commonly used by lenders) for $19.95 from
www.myfico.com to know exactly where you stand.
Definition for FICO:
• Fair Isaac Corporation , is a public
company that provides analytics and
decision making solutions—including
credit scoring FICO Official Site--that
help financial services companies
make complex, high-volume
decisions
WHAT’S IN YOUR FICO® SCORE (GPA)
• FICO Scores are calculated from a lot of different
credit data in your credit report. This data can be
grouped into five categories as outlined below. The
percentages in the chart reflect how important
each of the categories is in determining your FICO
score.
• These percentages are based on the importance of
the five categories for the general population. For
particular groups - for example, people who have
not been using credit long - the importance of
these categories may be somewhat different.
PAYMENT HISTORY
(ATTEMPTED HOURS)
• Account payment information on specific types of
accounts (credit cards, retail accounts, installment
loans, finance company accounts, mortgage, etc.)
• Presence of adverse public records (bankruptcy,
judgements, suits, liens, wage attachments, etc.),
collection items, and/or delinquency (past due items)
• Severity of delinquency (how long past due)
• Amount past due on delinquent accounts or collection
items
• Time since (recency of) past due items (delinquency),
adverse public records (if any), or collection items (if
any)
• Number of past due items on file
• Number of accounts paid as agreed
ATTEMPTED HOURS
• These are credits registered for that are not dropped before
the end of the first week of class.
• They include developmental courses or courses taken over for
a higher grade.
• They count toward the credit limit imposed by the state for
degree completion. In 2003 the Utah State Board of Regents
passed a policy designed to encourage students to make
reasonable progress toward completion of degree
requirements. The policy states that students who exceed
135% of the credits required for completion of their
baccalaureate degree will be charged the full cost of
instruction (out of state tuition).
• Credit hours that do not count toward the 170 hours are
concurrent enrollment, advanced placement, and credit by
examination.
• The financial aid limit is 189 attempted hours.
LENGTH OF CREDIT HISTORY
(SEMESTERS ATTENDED)
• Time since accounts opened
• Time since accounts opened, by specific type of
account
• Time since account activity
SEMESTERS ATTENDED
• If you earn 12 credits a semester it will take at least
10 semesters to complete a bachelor’s degree
(120+ credits).
• If you need to take developmental courses or take
courses over this will add a semester or more.
• The grades in some courses expire over time.
• The goal of SSS is to help you graduate with a
bachelor’s degree within 6 years from the date you
enter college.
NEW CREDIT (EARNED HOURS)
• Number of recently opened accounts, and
proportion of accounts that are recently opened,
by type of account
• Number of recent credit inquiries
• Time since recent account opening(s), by type of
account
• Time since credit inquiry(s)
• Re-establishment of positive credit history following
past payment problems
EARNED HOURS
• Credits applied toward a degree. This does not
include developmental courses or courses retaken
for a higher grade.
• If you change majors, credits earned that are not
part of your new major are counted as electives.
AMOUNTS OWED (PASSED HOURS)
Amount owing on accounts
Amount owing on specific types of accounts
Lack of a specific type of balance, in some cases
Number of accounts with balances
Proportion of credit lines used (proportion of
balances to total credit limits on certain types of
revolving accounts)
• Proportion of installment loan amounts still owing
(proportion of balance to original loan amount on
certain types of installment loans)
•
•
•
•
•
PASSED HOURS
• Credits for courses receiving a passing grade
(anything other than an E, I, NC, UW, W).
• You may apply 20 credits of “D” toward graduation
providing that your cumulative GPA is above 2.0 for
graduation and the courses are not required for
your major.
TYPES OF CREDIT USED (GPA HOURS)
• Number of (presence, prevalence, and recent
information on) various types of accounts (credit
cards, retail accounts, installment loans, mortgage,
consumer finance accounts, etc.)
GPA HOURS
• Courses coded with an R in front of the grade
(indicating academic renewal), or an E in the far
right column of the form (indicating exclusion due
to a repeat), are not used in computing the GPA, t
• Courses with the following notations in the grade
column are not used in computing the GPA, the
graduation hours, or the total hours completed
(with the exception of CR-Credit courses which may
be used toward graduation hours or total hours).
AU-audit, CE-continuing ed, CR-credit, I-incomplete,
NC-no credit, UW-unofficial withdrawal, W-withdrawal
GPA CALCULATION
• GPA Quality Points
•
•
•
•
•
•
A =4.0
Institution GPA
A-=3.7
Transfer GPA
B+=3.3
Cumulative GPA
B =3.0
B-=2.7
C+=2.3, etc.
Students who qualify for honors based on their cumulative WSU grade point
average (GPA) will have the appropriate designation indicated on their
transcripts and diplomas.
Bachelor's Degree Honors
Summa Cum Laude - WSU GPA of 3.90 or higher.
Magna Cum Laude - WSU GPA of 3.80 or higher.
Cum Laude - WSU GPA of 3.60 or higher.
Associate's Degree Honors
High Honors - WSU GPA of 3.85 or higher.
Honors - WSU GPA of 3.60 or higher.
FICO IS TO GPA
AS
CREDIT REPORT IS TO TRANSCRIPT
Reading and understanding your transcript is as
important as reading and understanding a credit
report.
Attempt
Hours
Passed Hours
Sem 15.5
Cum 27.5
15.5
26.5
Earned
Hours
15.5
26.5
GPA Hours
15
25
Quality Points GPA
50.80
81.8
3.39
3.27
IS ALL OF THIS REALLY IMPORTANT?
• A FICO score takes into consideration all these
categories of information, not just one or two.
•
The importance of any factor depends on the
overall information in your credit report.
•
Your FICO score only looks at information in your
credit report.
•
Your score considers both positive and negative
information in your credit report.
ACADEMIC RENEWAL
Academic renewal allows students the opportunity to recalculate
their GPA by discounting grades of D+ or lower which were earned
six or more years prior to the date of petition.
• Courses completed prior to the awarding of a certificate,
associate or bachelor's degree do not qualify for academic
renewal.
• Students must be currently registered, attending and have their
tuition paid in full.
• Academic renewal may be requested only once during a
student's academic career.
• Applications for academic renewal and detailed policy
information are available at the Records Office or at
www.weber.edu/records.
CREDIT UTILIZATION RATIO
• Never exceed individual credit limits. In fact, the lower your
credit utilization ratio (the percentage of available credit
you’re using), the better. Try to keep your overall utilization
ratio – and ratios on individual cards and lines of credit –
below 30 percent.
• Even if you pay off your balance each month, showing a high
utilization ratio at any time during the month could
conceivably hurt your score. A few suggestions:
• Spread purchases among multiple cards to keep individual
balances lower.
• Make extra payments midway through billing cycles so your
outstanding balances appear lower.
• Ask lenders to reinstate higher limits if your payment history has
been solid.
EARN THE MOST CREDITS FOR YOUR
MONEY
• 12 credits is considered full time.
• You can take up to 18 credits for the same price as
12, however, you will use up financial aid eligibility
for credits attempted.
• Part time students (less than 12 credits) pay the full
semester fees which is over $300.
NEED MORE INFORMATION ON YOUR
CREDIT SCORE?
• There are many good resources for learning what you
can do to repair and protect your credit scores,
including the Credit Education Center at
www.myfico.com/CreditEducation, the Credits and
Loans page at
www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/credit.shtm, and
What’s My Score (www.whatsmyscore.org), a financial
literacy program run by Visa Inc.
•
• Jason Alderman directs Visa’s financial education
programs. To Follow Jason Alderman on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/PracticalMoney.
•
NEED MORE INFORMATION ON GPA?
SEE
AN
ADVISOR
Health and Personal Issues and Grade Point Average, Minnesota Undergraduate Students
% Reporting
the Issue
% Saying the
Issue Affected
Academics
Mean GPA for
Students Who
Say Issue
Affected
Academics
Mean GPA for
Students Who
Did Not Report
the Issue
69.9%
32.9%
3.12
3.23
Sleep Difficulties
40.8
20.0
3.08
3.27
Concern for Troubled
Friend/Family Member
42.4
15.8
3.08
3.25
Relationship Issues
34.8
14.1
3.10
3.25
Excessive
Computer/Internet Use
30.4
13.0
3.04
3.27
Financial Difficulties
44.0
12.8
3.03
3.28
Mental Health Issues
21.5
12.3
3.08
3.25
Upper Respiratory
Infection
36.5
11.5
3.12
3.23
Alcohol Use
32.8
7.5
2.92
3.28
7.2
4.3
2.93
3.26
21.5
3.8
3.05
3.24
Behavior or Activity
Stress
Learning Disability/ADD
Moved/Changed
Residence