Your credit score before you borrow
2 min read
Lenders score you before you ever apply for a loan. Know your number, know your reports, and protect both before medical school borrowing begins.
THE IDEA
A credit score is a three-digit summary of how reliably you handle borrowed money, most commonly the FICO score on a 300–850 scale. Lenders use it to decide whether to lend and at what price. The weights are public: payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%), and credit mix (10%). One factor dominates everything else — paying every bill on time, every time.
This matters before medical school because federal Grad PLUS-style borrowing has historically required no adverse credit history, and private lenders price entirely off your score. Pull your free reports at AnnualCreditReport.com, dispute errors, set every account to autopay, and keep card balances low relative to limits. Do not close your oldest card right before application season — length of history helps you.
Your next steps
- Pull your free reports from all three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com.
- Set every recurring bill and card to autopay at least the minimum.
- Dispute any errors on your reports before application season.
- Keep card utilization low and leave your oldest card open.
Check your understanding
Select each question to reveal the answer.
Planning questions
- What is your current score range, and is anything on your reports inaccurate?
- Which accounts still lack autopay, and what is your oldest open card?