Thread: How do installment loans affect credit score?

Hi guys I have a question, I have a bunch of credit cards and I've been working on paying them down for a few months now, 3 of 6 have a zero balance and I currently have a 39% utilization. my credit score is 639 and I was wondering how does an installment loan affect my credit score?

I understand that when you have a high balance to credit ratio it affects it negatively, however when I graduate in may i will have about 50k in student loans outstanding. will my credit score decrease dramatically when the deferred installment loans become active?

Installment loans help because they improve your mix of credit.

my loans were deferred payments until 6 months after I graduate. So December 2012 I will have to start paying, and the loans will actively show 50k in debt. Won't having a almost 100% utilization rate on those loans negatively affect my score?

I believe mortgages and installment loans are counted differently than revolving credit (credit cards).

I know when i looked at my credit report recently there is a section for mortgages, a section for installment loans, and a section for revolving credit lines. Since any installment loan would start at 100%, i think it's understood that that doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong.