Thank you for responding!
Again, I'm new to all of this. So please bare with me and my questions I'll inevitably have.
Where would be the best place to pay for the real credit scores? Is there a site that is preferred by most here?
In regards to the defaults: As of right now...money wise it really isn't feasible. I am unsure about the Charity Care item you mentioned, so I will have to do some research. If you are talking about where they help with your bills, would that be an option since they are old bills and I do have gainful employment at this time? If that is something I need to research with them, then I will and forgive me for asking yet another question.
In regards to the New Credit: I was reading about the installment loan process through Allient SSL on here and I did sign up with them last night, although I don't have a member number yet, so nothing has been done. You mentioned 3 credit cards...would you suggest I try for ones that are not secured and take the risk, or skip that option and go strictly for ones that are secured only? Any recommendations on which ones to apply for?
Thank you again for responding. 
You can get all 3 FICO 8 scores from Credit Check Total. It's $1 for a 7 day trial membership.
I would concentrate on getting the collections paid off and deleted before worrying about a secured credit card. Considering they're very old, you may have luck with settlements for less than the amount owed. How recently have they updated the credit bureaus?
As for Alliant, you have installment loans so you don't need to do the SSL technique. Your student loans will count towards that.
Make sure you pay your current credit cards before the statement cuts, not by the due date. Pay 1 to $0 and pay the other down to $10.
I would concentrate on getting the collections paid off and deleted before worrying about a secured credit card. Considering they're very old, you may have luck with settlements for less than the amount owed. How recently have they updated the credit bureaus?
As for Alliant, you have installment loans so you don't need to do the SSL technique. Your student loans will count towards that.
Make sure you pay your current credit cards before the statement cuts, not by the due date. Pay 1 to $0 and pay the other down to $10.
You really need to work on the collections first. Once you get those settled, and possibly deleted, it'll open up more doors for you. You don't sound like you're in a rush so I would take the time to get your report as clean as possible and then attempt to acquire another good card or 2.
@medicgrrl wrote:
You really need to work on the collections first. Once you get those settled, and possibly deleted, it'll open up more doors for you. You don't sound like you're in a rush so I would take the time to get your report as clean as possible and then attempt to acquire another good card or 2.
Thank you for your responses.
I will work on this! I do have one other question if you will allow me to be a bother one more time.
With the student loans, how big of a negative are those on the reports/credit score? Or do they simply look at the payment history? The loan forgiveness won't be for a total of 10 years and I'm only 7 months in.
My reason for asking is that on the reports themselves, it states Debt-To-Credit and lists this percentage as 101%!
However, with my cards in play at 13% (at the time the reports were ran), it brings the total down to 99%.