How do you build credit as a college student?

There are several ways to raise your credit score in 30 days. Reducing your credit utilization is one of the fastest ways to raise your credit score, and you can do it by paying down debt, spending less, paying your bill more often or asking for a higher spending limit. Disputing negative information on your credit report can help quickly, too. The bottom line is that your credit score can change anytime new information is added to your credit report or old information is removed from it. Creditors typically report updated information about loans and lines of credit at least once a month, so making the right moves for 30 days can definitely produce results for your credit score.... read full answer

But you must understand that true credit building is a multi-year process. You’ll still need to manage your money responsibly moving forward for your credit-score gains to last. And that’s one reason why you should never, ever pay for credit repair. Nonprofit credit counselors can be very helpful, but services that make wild promises and charge fees, especially up front, are best avoided.

Now, with that being said, let’s get back to the business of boosting your credit score by next month. Below, you will find a collection of tips that should help anyone improve their credit score quickly. You can also get personalized advice for how to proceed by checking out your free credit analysis on WalletHub.

7 Ways to Raise Your Credit Score in 30 Days:

1. Dispute Credit-Report Mistakes. Removing negative information from your credit report is perhaps the best way to generate substantial short-term credit-score improvement. But you can remove such information only if it’s wrong or the result of fraud. So go over your report with a fine-tooth comb, cross-referencing each item with your own financial records. If you find something fishy, investigate it further and, if necessary, file a dispute with the credit bureau.
2. Make a Big Debt Payment. How much you owe, especially compared to your income, has a big impact on your credit score because it tells lenders how risky it would be to let you borrow more. A credit score measures your risk to lenders, after all. So the more debt you pay off, the more your score should improve.
3. Reduce Your Credit Card Statement Balance. Credit utilization is calculated by dividing your credit cards’ balances at the end of each billing period by their spending limits. So if you reduce the balance listed on your monthly statement, you also reduce your utilization, which in turn improves your credit score. You can reduce your statement balances by spending less, making larger payments, or paying your bill more frequently. For example, paying a credit card’s bill twice per month – once before your statement is generated and again before the due date – allows you to lower your credit utilization and avoid interest.
4. Become an Authorized User. If a family member has excellent credit, ask him or her to add you as an authorized user on an existing credit card (preferably an old one with a high credit limit and no negative records). This might take too long to process to benefit you in a month’s time. But it should provide a bump pretty quickly.
5. Dispute Negative Authorized-User Records. Not many people know this, but if you are or were an authorized user on an account that is dragging down your credit score, you can ask the credit bureau to remove it from your credit report. Authorized users are not responsible for paying the bill, which means they don’t have to suffer the consequences of not doing so. You just have to file a dispute.
6. Ask for a Higher Credit Limit. More available credit will reduce your overall credit utilization ratio, a key component of your credit score. Be careful, though. Many credit-card issuers will re-check your credit history — causing a hard inquiry and short-term credit-score damage — before approving a higher limit. So make sure to ask about your creditor’s policies first. You should also make sure all your credit limits are expressed accurately on your credit reports. If a listed limit is lower than it should be, ask the issuer to report an updated figure to the credit bureaus. Take note, however, that if you have an “NPSL” credit card, there might not be much you can do about an unusually reported credit limit.
7. Write a Goodwill Letter. If your credit report bears only a minor blemish — one late payment, perhaps — and the rest of your credit history is solid, you can try asking the issuer for a favor. For example, you could call and make a case for why your slip-up should be forgiven and stricken from the record, so to speak. Or you could send an official “Goodwill Adjustment Letter,” which formalizes the request. This tactic is most successful before a negative record actually makes its way to your credit report. But it’s worth a shot afterward as well.

You can keep track of your credit score’s latest developments by signing up for a free WalletHub account. WalletHub is the first and only website to offer free credit scores and full credit reports that are updated on a daily basis. Additional information about increasing your credit score can be found in our comprehensive Credit Improvement Guide.

The best way to use a student credit card is for small everyday purchases that you pay for in full by the due date each month. This will help your credit score improve as well as get you in the habit of paying bills on time and spending only what you can afford to repay. Only using a portion of your credit line – less than 30% is ideal – will also help your credit score. And it will leave you with enough available credit left over for potential emergencies, which is a key reason for students to have a credit card.... read full answer

But that’s not the only way to use a credit card as a college student. In fact, you don’t even need to use your card to benefit, as long as you have one. You can learn more that option and other tips for how to make use of student credit cards below.

Best Ways to Use a Student Credit Card:

• Make Everyday Purchases & Pay On Time: There’s nothing wrong with regularly making purchases with your student credit card, as long as you always pay your bill on time and in full. You don’t want to waste money on interest or get into the habit of spending more than you can afford to repay. And missed payments are the most common reason for credit score damage.
  
• Lock Your Card in a Drawer: A lot of people don’t realize this, but you can build credit without actually using your credit card. You just need an open account that’s in good standing.
  
• Carry Your Card for Emergencies Only: This is sort of a hybrid of the first two options. Most young people don’t carry cash, and a credit card could help you avoid getting stranded somewhere.

What you don’t want to do is miss payments, max out your spending limit or otherwise manage your account irresponsibly. That would only put you behind the eight ball after graduation.