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Credit Scores and Credit Rating 
In order for a potential lender to decide whether you’ll pay them back, a system of evaluating a borrower's creditworthiness developed over the years.  Creditworthiness basically concerns an evaluation about how good you might be at paying off your loans on time and in full.  Most people in the US, sometime during their late teenage years to early twenties, begin to establish evidence of their creditworthiness (called a credit history).   You, without even knowing it, have left behind you a trail of evidence as to your credit worthiness.   
There are three bureaus gather and compile this type of information.  These three bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.  Then, the Fair Isaac Corporation uses this info to create a number that lenders (such as banks, credit card issuers and the like) use to evaluate your credit risk.  This score is called your FICO score. 

There are several things that matter in your credit score (or your FICO score).  According to the myFICO website, 35% of your score is from your payment history (on things like rent, debt payments, cell phone payments), 30% is how much you owe, 15% is the length of your credit history, 10% is the amount of new credit, and 10% is the types of credit used.  Remember credit means the same thing as loans or debt.
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