Don’t forget that credit reports are free once a year at
Annual Credit Report.com https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
Never pay for the credit reports

You can get an approximate free score at
Quizzle.com and Credit Karma.com
They use a different formula that takes your income into consideration
You can also google: Fico Score Estimator
This calculator will give you a range of where you stand

Unless you have a lot of collection accounts or judgments related to lease default then I wouldn’t worry about it.

Second, do not say "I have only been over the limit once". That is like saying "I have only robbed a bank once" or "I have only murdered a person once". Once is once too often. Unless you have never been over your limit, you have been over your limit too often.

Third, pay off the credit card. Not having a balance owed on the credit card will be much better than explaining why you have a large balance owed.

What you have is a FAKO & means absolutely nothing.

You can get your TU & EQ FICO’s here —> http://www.myfico.com

To: Screening Board/Apt complex name.
Re: Appeal of application.

I am enclosing a copy of my Experian credit report. I am concerned that items on it have unnecessarily lowered my credit score.

I would like to address the items shown on it.

Loans.

I currently have 2 loans.

I have an automobile loan. I took out a $9000 loan in May of 2008. This was to be a 48 month loan, but I will have it paid by December of 2010 at the end of 30 months. The current balance is $1000. This will add $xxx to my available monthly budget.

I have student loans. These are deferred until 6 months after I leave school. At that time, I will owe approximately $xxx a month.

Credit.
I have had my credit card for 4 years. I have been over the limit once. I understand that part of my credit score is based on the percentage used of available credit. The reason I maxed out the card was due to an unexpected and unusually high repair bill to my car.

I appreciate you taking time reviewing my statement. I understand that the xxxx apartments takes credit worthiness seriously. I would very much like to be approved for this apartment.

"My Name"

More broadly, you seem like a very intense man with a clear sense of what you want and a strong determination to achieve it, which is all the more inspiring in light of what sound like very difficult personal experiences. Your achievements to date are quite impressive, and I suspect you will do admirably in pursuing your very ambitious plans for the future. If anything, I wonder whether your plans for the future are too expansive and will place a greater level of stress and commitment than you can handle. The programs and activities in which you plan to participate are excellent, but don’t be afraid to acknowledge that you may not be able to do it all. Prioritization is an important skill that you will have to learn and apply sooner or later.

You have a very clear sense of what you hope to achieve, and to the extent you find yourself unable to "do it all," I would focus on the skills and activities that relate most directly to your goal of astrophysics study. Get some research experience, keep your grades up, and spend plenty of time on math and physics.

You’ve asked here specifically about Harvard. As many people will tell you, admission to highly selective universities like Harvard is rigorous to say the least, and it’s simply not predictable in most cases. Your achievements probably will make you a very competitive applicant, but it’s hard to really stand out in a pool of thousands of other incredible high school students. As someone who has worked in admissions, it’s impossible to convey thoroughly enough how difficult it is to choose only a few amongst so many other equally qualified candidates.

The trick is to find a way to make your application "stand out," which is only vaguely helpful, because no one who doesn’t know you well can really advise you on how to do this. You have the makings of a real "overcoming adversity" life story, if you’ll permit me to say so, and I certainly could see you drafting a "reaching for the stars (literally)" personal statement, as just one avenue to consider.

Because of the arbitrariness of admissions, don’t feel tied to Harvard or any one school in particular. There are many exceptional schools in your field and more generally. Indeed, many might say that MIT, Stanford, and CalTech are as good or better than Harvard in your particular field. So, be willing to look and think broadly, and be confident that your determination and achievement will carry you far no matter what path you choose.

Best of luck!

More broadly, you seem like a very intense man with a clear sense of what you want and a strong determination to achieve it, which is all the more inspiring in light of what sound like very difficult personal experiences. Your achievements to date are quite impressive, and I suspect you will do admirably in pursuing your very ambitious plans for the future. If anything, I wonder whether your plans for the future are too expansive and will place a greater level of stress and commitment than you can handle. The programs and activities in which you plan to participate are excellent, but don’t be afraid to acknowledge that you may not be able to do it all. Prioritization is an important skill that you will have to learn and apply sooner or later.

You have a very clear sense of what you hope to achieve, and to the extent you find yourself unable to "do it all," I would focus on the skills and activities that relate most directly to your goal of astrophysics study. Get some research experience, keep your grades up, and spend plenty of time on math and physics.

You’ve asked here specifically about Harvard. As many people will tell you, admission to highly selective universities like Harvard is rigorous to say the least, and it’s simply not predictable in most cases. Your achievements probably will make you a very competitive applicant, but it’s hard to really stand out in a pool of thousands of other incredible high school students. As someone who has worked in admissions, it’s impossible to convey thoroughly enough how difficult it is to choose only a few amongst so many other equally qualified candidates.

The trick is to find a way to make your application "stand out," which is only vaguely helpful, because no one who doesn’t know you well can really advise you on how to do this. You have the makings of a real "overcoming adversity" life story, if you’ll permit me to say so, and I certainly could see you drafting a "reaching for the stars (literally)" personal statement, as just one avenue to consider.

Because of the arbitrariness of admissions, don’t feel tied to Harvard or any one school in particular. There are many exceptional schools in your field and more generally. Indeed, many might say that MIT, Stanford, and CalTech are as good or better than Harvard in your particular field. So, be willing to look and think broadly, and be confident that your determination and achievement will carry you far no matter what path you choose.

Best of luck!

If you left your account open, you will see a huge improvement in about 45 to 60 days
(it can take that long for credit reports to update)
A card coming close to the max can easily reduce a credit score by 100 points
If you left those accounts open, you are going to be delightfully surprised with a nice score

Do not try to delete that paid off car loan for the sake of having shorter credit reports.
This paid off loan can show positively on your reports for 10 years