Paying down student loans to improve FICO score

[suzyloveskoalas]

I just paid off all of my CC debt and the only debt I have left is my $23,000 student loan. I'm planning to agressively pay this off in 2.5 years by paying $1000 towards it per month (I've already got a great plan and budget worked out for this).  My ultimate 5 year goal is to dramatically improve my FICO score and keep saving as much money towards a 20% down payment on a house, but I'm just not sure what my FICO score will be by then.  My FICO score is currently 606. What do you think my FICO score will be within the next 6 months, 2.5 years, and 5 years?

[SCF]

How your score changes will depend on the whole of your credit file- type and number of accounts, type and age of negatives/collections, inquiries and also utilization on your revolving accounts when you pull the score.

Just paying off (or paying down) an installment loan (like a student loan) does not have a large impact on your report.  Over time, the impact will come from the on-time payments and the bump to your AAoA the loan provides as it ages.  That said, paying off debt agressively like you are has a host of other benefits, you pay less interest, and you can build a stronger financial future.  Plus, it feels great to get that debt off your books!

[FocusedAndDetermined]

Without more information, it is hard to say. It depends on how old your accts are and how many you have.  For some reason, it seems that FICO gives a higher score to those that have a small balance reporting on one card.  The scoring models don't seem to like all $0 balances. So if you want meximum score charge a small amount, let it report, then PIF.