Does poor credit effect the admission process?

[pbc]

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience regarding how a less then stellar credit rating may affect one's chances of being accepted into law school?

[wolfman1977]

I can't swear to this being true in  all cases, but organizations generally have to obtain your permission before viewing a credit report and seeing your history.  The only exeptions I can think of are insurance companies- they've viewed my credit file w/out notifying me b4, but who knows, I might have missed the fine print.  Also, some credit companies can view very general information about your credit history for purposes of screening out people to whom they send offers.  I used to work in credit, and to make a long story short, if an entity requests your credit report, the request will show as an "inquiry" on your report- after viewing thousands of credit repors, I have never seeen one an inquiry from a university unless the person was an employee of the university.  So no, I don't think a poor rating matters at all in admissions, only in the sense that you might have trouble getting commercial loans if your credit rating is bad.  Hope this helps.

[bobfett33]

After thinking about it, I can't imagine any circumstance in which your credit rating would impact your chances of admission.  Bad credit may, however, indicate other things that would impact your chances, but never the credit rating itself.

[Shell]

I had my identity stolen, and the people who stole my identity opened a bunch of charge accounts they didn't pay.  My credit score on Equifax and Transunion is in the upper 500s, which is a pretty bad score.

I have been accepted to two schools already.  Universities don't have permissible purpose to pull your credit file, so they won't be basing their decisions on your credit history. 

You'll face a lot of obstacles, though, depending on how bad your credit is.  Most apartment complexes will check your credit score before allowing you to sign a lease.  Most apartment complexes only require that you have around a 640 or so to allow you to rent.  All private lenders will check your credit history.  I was talking to one loan company today, and the representative said that they look at the file as a whole to make a judgment call and not just the credit score.  Another thing to consider is the bar.  The character and fitness part often requires pulling a credit report.  I don't know how strict their guidelines are, but it could be cause for concern.     

[pbc]

Thank you for your feedback.