How is the FICO score computed?

Question

What formula would I use to compute it myself?

Answer 1

You can't compute it yourself, but you can get an estimate from http://www.bankrate.com/brm/fico/calc.asp

Answer 2

This is how your score breaks down:

35%- payment history
30%- total debt outstanding
15%- length of time you've had credit
10%- types of credit
10%- inquiries and new credit
This is how your score breaks down:
The above percentages provide very limited guidance in understanding a credit score. For example, the 10% of the score allocated to "types of credit used" is undefined, leaving consumers unaware what type of credit mix to pursue. "Length of credit history" is also a murky concept; it consists of multiple factors - two being the oldest account open and the average length of time an account has been open. Although only 35% is attributed to punctuality, if a consumer is substantially late on numerous accounts, his score will fall far more than 35%. Bankruptcies, foreclosures, and judgments affect scores substantially, but are not included in the somewhat simplistic pie chart provided by Fair Isaac.

Current income and employment history do not influence the FICO score, but they are weighed when applying for credit. For instance, an unemployed individual with no other sources of income will not usually be approved for a home mortgage, regardless of his or her FICO score.

There are other special factors which can weigh on the FICO score.

Any monies owed because of a court judgment, tax lien, or similar carry an additional negative penalty, especially when recent.
Having more than a certain number of consumer finance credit accounts also carries a negative weight (critics say that this causes a vicious cycle, locking people into continuing to use consumer finance companies).
The number of recent credit checks also can weigh down the score, although credit agencies usually claim to allow for credit checks made within a certain window of time to not aggregate, so as to allow the consumer to shop around for rates.

[edit] Range of scores
A FICO score generally has a max of 850 and a minimum of 300. It exhibits a left-skewed distribution with a median around 723. The performance of the scores is monitored and the scores are periodically aligned so that a credit grantor normally does not need to be concerned about which score card was employed.

Each individual actually has three credit scores for any given scoring model because the three credit agencies have their own, independent databases. These databases are independent of each other and may contain entirely different data. Many lenders will check an applicant's score from each bureau and use the median score to determine the applicant's credit worthiness.

VantageScore ranges from 501 to 990 and offers letter grades as well: A (901-990), B (801-900), C (701-800), D (601-700), and F (501-600).

Answer 3

The site that Sarah linked is a great way to estimate what your FICO's may be - as long as you don't fudge your numbers.

I use it myself sometimes, when I'm just curious about my scores but not curious enough to pay FICO for them

Remember that it is just an estimator and will not be true FICO scores. But it's free and will get you somewhere in the area of your true scores, again - as long as you don't fudge your numbers.

Answer 4

Better to get the expert's advice

Answer 5

go to suze orman's website...her site has great info. better to get advice from a legit person...than from random people here......(when it comes to financials of course!!)