 TITLE: Can You Get a Personal Loan With Fair Credit? CONTENT: What Is Considered Fair Credit?\n-------------------------------\nA FICO® score of 580 to 669 is considered fair. FICO® scores range from 300 to 850 and fall into the following five categories:\nRating\nCredit Score\nVery poor\n300-579\nFair\n580-669\nGood\n670-739\nVery good\n740-799\nExceptional\n800-850\nYour FICO® scores are based on information in your credit reports maintained by the three major credit reporting agencies—Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. In calculating your credit score, FICO® considers these five factors:\n*   **Payment history**: How consistent you've been paying your bills on time is the most important factor in maintaining a good credit score. This accounts for 35% of your FICO® Score☉ , so even one missed or late payment can have a big effect.\n*   **Amounts owed**: Add up all of your credit card balances and divide that number by the sum of all your available credit card limits to find your credit utilization. This factor, along with how much progress you've made paying down any loans you have, accounts for 30% of your credit score. The lower your credit utilization, and the closer you are to paying off your cards, the better.\n*   **Length of credit history**: 15% of your credit score is based on how long you've held your credit card and loan accounts. This factor also considers the average age of all your accounts.\n*   **Credit mix**: Seasoned credit users manage a variety of credit products: loans, credit cards, lines of credit and so on. The diversity of your credit portfolio accounts for 10% of your FICO® Score.\n*   **New credit**: The final 10% of your score is based on how many credit accounts you've opened recently and how many hard inquiries have been made on your credit report. A flurry of new credit applications can increase how risky you appear to lenders.\nWhen you apply for credit, lenders use your credit score to help assess the risk involved in lending you money. A high credit score indicates that you have experience managing credit and that you've been successful at repaying debt. A fair credit score suggests you might be relatively new at using credit or that you've experienced some setbacks in the past. Because this translates into a higher perceived risk for lenders, the lowest interest rates and best loan terms may be out of reach to borrowers with fair credit. If your credit falls into this range, one of your main challenges will be finding the right lender and loan. END