 TITLE: Credit Score Basics CONTENT: What Is a Credit Score?\n-----------------------\nParaphrasing from the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a credit score is a numerical value derived from a modeling system used to predict the likelihood of default. To put it simply, credit scores are used to differentiate higher-risk borrowers from lower-risk ones. To do this, the main consumer credit scoring models, FICO® and VantageScore®, rank consumers using a 300-to-850 score range.\nCredit scores are important because they are one of the core tools used by lenders to determine whether they'll grant you credit, and at what cost. If you have great credit scores, then you'll have access to competitively priced credit from many mainstream lenders. If you have poor credit scores, your options will be more limited and more expensive. END