About one-fifth of people have an "Exceptional" score of 800-850. Find out how many reach that perfect score.

Answer: 1.76%

Questions:

• What factors go into calculating your credit score?
• What are the benefits of a high credit score, even if it’s not a perfect 850?
• What other characteristics (like age or debt balance) might be shared by people with a perfect credit score? Explain your reasoning.

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Experian):

"Those with an 850 FICO® Score have the same general characteristics found in prior years: lower balances overall, except for mortgage balances, which are only slightly higher than those of all consumers...

Habits you could replicate to see a score boost include:

• Maintaining low revolving credit balances compared with credit limits; in other words, having a low credit utilization ratio. Those with the highest credit scores typically use less than 10% of their available credit.
• Making all debt payments on time. A payment history with few, if any, delinquencies reported on past and present credit accounts will help most.
• Growing a reasonably long credit history. Keeping credit card accounts open, even if you rarely use them, can help (assuming they won't provide too much temptation to spend).

Those with exceptional credit, FICO^® Scores of 800 and above, will likely receive the same terms as someone with a perfect score of 850—all else being equal. Even those with FICO^® Scores slightly below 800 may receive the same terms as those who have reached the top of the credit score scale."

About the Author

Kathryn Dawson

Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and has a master's degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn is looking forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice into curriculum design at NGPF. During her free time, Kathryn loves embarking on cooking projects, walking around her Seattle neighborhood with her dog, or lounging in a hammock with a book.