About Credit Reports
A Credit report is an examination of a person's 'creditworthiness'. Credit reports consider your credit history and various other factors associated with your financial past. Banks, lenders, and credit card companies use your credit score and credit report to evaluate the risks involved in lending funds to a consumer. The most widely used credit scoring method in the US is called FICO, which stands for Fair Isaac Corporation, the company that gathers the financial data used in the assessment of one’s credit score. FICO credit scores can range from 300, being the lowest to 850, being the highest. People with a high FICO score generally are able to receive larger loans at lower interest rates than those who have lower credit scores. The three major credit bureaus that monitor and report FICO scores in the US are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax, and despite some degree of standardization, your credit score can vary somewhat from bureau to bureau, so it is important to know your score from all three bodies.
Effects of Bad Credit
A bad credit report occurs when a borrower does not repay funds borrowed on time, defaults on a loan, or goes bankrupt. Having a bad credit report can have serious adverse effects on one’s financial profile. Having bad credit will make it extremely difficult to be approved for a loan or credit card, and whenever a bank or a lender checks your FICO report and rejects a loan, your score is further damaged. Small institutions and banks may lend to individuals with bad credit, but they will charge extremely high APRs and apply stringent terms and conditions to individuals with bad credit.
About College Loans with No Credit Check
The U.S. government and numerous financial institutions offer college loans with no credit check. All federal student loans are college loans with no credit check associated with approval: instead, federal student loans are awarded based on financial need (or in the case of an unsubsidized Stafford loan, are available to anybody who applies). Many banks offer various college loans with no credit check to students to help them pursue a college degree while minimizing financial distractions, though private college loans with no credit check will most likely be far more costly than anything you could obtain through the federal government.