Bad credit, a hindrance for grad admission?

[unit_circle]

My financial credit rating is not the greatest. Does this play a factor in applying to graduate programs in the sciences as far as financial aid (or anything else) goes? Could I be rejected for a bad credit score? Thanks for any advice, I don't remember seeing this topic here before (maybe it's a dumb question?)

Edit: I tried googling but wasn't able to find much.

 

[leright]

Well, usually your tuition is waived, or mostly waived in a Ph.D program and you're paid an annual stipend of around $14,000. This is, of course, if you work as a TA or RA.

 

[physics girl phd]

With regards to physics grad programs... I don't know of any US schools that require any info on your credit, if you are a US citizen. Sometimes if you are a foreign-born you must provide financial info, because tuition may or may not be waived (eg., Thai students frequently submit a form showing that the Thai gov't will support their education, so the US school does not provide tuition waivers).

Student loans are deferred while in grad-school.

Stipends can go higher depending on location, sometimes field of specialization... (in my grad school, experimental RA's were usually making more than theory students supported by RA's, who made more than those supported by TA's). As an RA, my gross annual income was over $23k, until our grant ran out of funds, when it went down to ~$19k.

 

[unit_circle]

Thanks for the info, physics girl phd. I didn't think credit would be an issue, but it was hard to find info since googling "credit rating graduate school" and stuff like that is not effective, since credit could mean credit as in courses or as in finance. I know that a lot of employers do credit checks, and I thought maybe grad programs did the same. I'm working to fix my credit, but it will still be bad when I graduate with a bachelors.

 

[chroot]

AFAIK, student loans are guaranteed by the government to be available to anyone, regardless of credit history. I don't believe any credit check was done before I received student loans back in undergraduate school. Of course, you have to divulge your SSN, but I don't think it was used for a credit check.

Your school's financial aid office should be able to answer this question better than we can.

- Warren

 

[Manchot]

Not to hijack this thread or anything, but I have a related question. My credit's just dandy, and I'm applying to grad schools this semester. One of my applications, however, wants me to say how much I money can guarantee towards my education right now. Having depleted my financial resources as an undergrad, and not knowing anything about fellowships yet, that number is basically zero. Will this hurt me in the application process?

 

[chroot]

I don't believe any school will let financial concerns affect your admission.

- Warr