In the Personal Finance Simulation, when students purchase homes, cars, or personal loans, their Credit Score within the game will directly affect their Interest Rate on these loans.
| FICO Credit Score | Home Loan | Car Loans | Personal Loans |
| Highest: 850 | Interest Rate H: 2% | Interest Rate H: 3% | Interest Rate H: 3% |
| Range 1 Low: 800-849 | Interest Rate 1: 2% | Interest Rate 1: 3% | Interest Rate 1: 3% |
| Range 2 Low: 750-799 | Interest Rate 2: 4% | Interest Rate 2: 6%, | Interest Rate 2: 6%, |
| Range 3 Low: 700-749 | Interest Rate 3: 5% | Interest Rate 3: 7.5%, | Interest Rate 3: 7.5%, |
| Range 4 Low: 680-699 | Interest Rate 4: 6% | Interest Rate 4: 8% | Interest Rate 4: 8% |
| Range 5 Low: 620-679 | Interest Rate 5: 7% | Interest Rate 5: 10%, | Interest Rate 5: 10%, |
| Range 6 Low: 500-619 | Interest Rate 6: 11% | Interest Rate 6: 13%, | Interest Rate 6: 13%, |
| Range 7 Low: 400-499 | Interest Rate 7: 15% | Interest Rate 7: 18%, | Interest Rate 7: 18%, |
| Range 8 Low: 300-399 | Interest Rate 8: 35% | Interest Rate 8: 35% | Interest Rate 8: 35% |
e.g. Interest Rates on Car Loan purchases below:
The credit score is very important in the real world. It is also very important in the simulation. It determines the loans you qualify for, your required down payments, and the interest you get charged. In
addition, your instructor may choose to make your credit score an academic grade. There are five factors in the simulation that make up your credit score. (It is much easier to maintain a good credit score than it is to fix a bad one, so be diligent. Most things can be influenced by ongoing decisions. However, attendance and bad payment history will stay on your credit report and impact your credit score for four calendar weeks.)
The five factors for credit scores are:
i. Academics: the grades your instructor submits
ii. Attendance: whether or not you attended class
iii. Debt/income ratio: your debt compared to your income
iv. Payment history: whether or not you’ve made your payments
v. Revolving credit: the purchases you make with your credit card
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