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College Student - What Next?

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Anonymous
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College Student - What Next?

Hi everyone! Happy Holidays! This is my first time posting on the forums, although I've been around for a couple months now reading through a lot, and I really appreciate how much help everyone has been already (whether you've known it or not)! 

 

I'm a 20 year old college junior, and I've just started building my credit this year, and I'm not sure sure what I should be looking to do next (if anything), or if I should just be waiting and gardening at this point (and if so, for how long). 

 

I'm employed part-time at the university I attend, but my average income is rather low ($5000-$6000 a year). I don't have any debt, or any student loans, and so currently the only credit history I have is from 3 revolving accounts. I was approved for the Citi Forward card in February 2014 w/ a CL of $800, the Discover IT Student in July w/ a $2000 CL, and was just approved for the Citi ThankYou Preferred card in November w/ a $1500 CL (but $300 of that was transferred from the Forward). I haven't pulled any of my true scores, but my FAKO scores put me in the 710-720 range, and the score Chase pulled in mid-November was a 702 (TU) (I was denied the Chase Freedom due to AAoA being too short, I tried reconning multiple times but wasn't successful). My AAoA is only 5 months, I've made all of my payments on time, I have no derogatory marks, have utilization less than 10%, and have 3 inquiries on all three of my reports.   

 

At this point, I know my AAoA is really short, and I have a low income, but I'm like to continue building my credit in way I can. I imagine that it would probably be best to wait and just let my score continue to rise slowly while paying off balances in full and just keeping an eye on everything to make sure that I'm staying on the right path, but I was wondering if anyone had other opinions as to what I can do to continue building a strong credit history. Should I keep applying for more cards? I've heard about AMEX's Backdating, and so am aware the earlier I can get one the better, but will also be traveling abroad soon and would like a card without foreign transaction fees, or has good travel rewards that will be accepted widely. I know I'm probably asking for and expecting too much, especially for someone who has just started off, but I'd appreciate the kick back to reality. Smiley Tongue

 

Anyway, sorry for such a long post, thanks for reading it if you have, and I look forward to being involved with the community! Smiley Happy

Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
MT936
Established Contributor

Re: College Student - What Next?

Wait at least 6 months between applications and you should think about waiting longer to get your AAoA up but it would be nice to apply for more cards to get your total utilization down by bringing your total limits up. Good luck and welcome to the forums fellow college student Smiley Happy

Amex Blue Cash Everyday: $25,000 | Navy FCU Cash Rewards: $25,000 | Discover It: $20,500
Chase Freedom: $12,500 | Citi Double Cash: $10,000 | Bank of America Cash Rewards: $8,000

Message 2 of 5
baller4life
Super Contributor

Re: College Student - What Next?

Listen and listen very,very carefully. I'm sure that I speak for ALOT of members on this forum when I tell you that you are at a VERY crucial stage in your life. So, you need to be extremely careful with the moves you make. Garden the cards you have right now. Pay your bills on time and keep util low and as your income rises once you get a full time job, you can re-evaluate your needs then as far as adding more to your portfolio. Whatever you do, do not get in over your head and start missing payments or maxing out your cards. That is exactly what I did 20+ years ago when I was your age. And it was the worse thing I could have possibly done. It lead to YEARS of bad credit that I am just coming out of now. You've done a great job with your credit this far. Keep up the good work.
Message 3 of 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: College Student - What Next?

Thanks to both of you! I'm definitely going to try to avoid making any mistakes, and will be very sure not to spend any money I don't have! 

 

I'll sit on my hands for a while and go do some gardening. Is there a good time for when I should apply next? MT936, you say wait 6 months, do you have any suggestions for what card I should apply for then? Or is it better to see if I can get some CLI's without any hard pulls? Just not really sure where to go after doing the waiting. 

 

But thanks to you both for the very warm welcome! I really appreciate it!

Message 4 of 5
MT936
Established Contributor

Re: College Student - What Next?

Try to get an amex if you can but you might not be able to with a low AAoA. Ive heard the amex blue sky is a good travel card or you can go for the amex blue cash everyday for cash back but definitely get in with amex their backdating and soft pull 3x cli are very important 

Amex Blue Cash Everyday: $25,000 | Navy FCU Cash Rewards: $25,000 | Discover It: $20,500
Chase Freedom: $12,500 | Citi Double Cash: $10,000 | Bank of America Cash Rewards: $8,000

Message 5 of 5
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