Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with score

To close or not to close credit cards?

Tubman — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:42:41 -0800

DH has opened multiple credit cards with me as an authorized user. We just paid them down to a $0 balance and I want to know how many we can close without hurting our credit. My guess is closing the c/c will impact his credit score and not mine.

how do i get my credit report/score?

dahliachewswell — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:50:46 -0800

LearningToBeAnAdultFilter: What is the most accurate, free and legitimate way to get my credit score? I know I'm supposed to be able to get it free once a year, and that there are 3 different reporting agencies.... but.... what do I do? I feel like everyone but me already knows this.

Is there anyway to not pay the AMEX membership fee and keep my credit score untouched?

schindyguy — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:38:23 -0800

How can I not pay the American Express membership fee and not have to close the card (which negatively impacts my credit score) because I dont want to use it anymore? I know closing a card negatively impacts an individual's credit score. So what I normally do is just keep the card open but cut it up so I dont use it.

But, I dont want to use my gold American Express business card anymore. The problem is there is a $125/yr membership fee that I dont want to have to pay for when I am not using the card. (And it doesnt make sense to pay $125 just so that my credit score isnt dinged)

Is there anyway to not pay the fee and keep my credit score untouched?

What do people do in this situation?

How long to wait after denied credit application?

jgunsch — Sun, 31 May 2009 11:09:05 -0800

How long should I wait before making another credit card application? I was denied for a specific card I'd like (Amazon.com card through Chase) in February for "too many credit applications." Can I apply again for it now? My history: I'm 18. I have a bit over three years of good history that show up in my credit report--I was a secondary account holder on my parents' credit card for a few years in high school and they've never missed a payment. I turned 18 in September, got my own credit card that very week and have used it and paid it off regularly (paying off full balances anywhere from $400 to $900 each month). I've used random "free credit score" services and found out two bureaus have my scores around 670 and 710.

What's your preferred site to get your FICO score?

xotis — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:36:42 -0800

What's your preferred method for getting your FICO score? Hi everyone,

I know about the free gov't programs to get your credit report, but I'm also interested in getting my FICO score. I believe one needs to pay a fee to get their FICO score. Google yields lots of sites that offer FICO scores, but I'm hoping to get recommendations from real folks, not search engines or marketing departments.

I'm curious what the cheapest, most reliable, and safest sites are to get your FICO score. Further, what's your preferred method for getting your FICO score?

Thanks in advance!

Lazy Pseudo Statistician Looking for Computer To Do Work For Him

theichibun — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:05:04 -0800

How can I take a Myers-Briggs test entered into SPSS in a per question format and get a Myers-Briggs Type for each of 92 participants? I've tried Google and am getting nothing. I downloaded a trial so I can work on it at home while I'm on Spring Break, and the Help files didn't install or something to where the end result is that I can't use them. I'm also kicking myself for not getting my text back after letting someone borrow it for my school's stats class.

I have 92 surveys, part of which is a Myers-Briggs Personality Test. I've entered the data on a question by question basis, where each of the 20 Myers-Briggs questions has an option value of either 1 or 2 (representing E or I, S or N, T or F, or J or P depending on the question).

I know I can get a frequency to get the personality type of the entire sample population. But how can get SPSS to score he Myers-Briggs for me on a survey by survey basis?

If it would be easier, I also have the surveys available and can go score them all by hand. But I'd rather not to that if I don't have to.

To apply or not to apply

ForeverDcember — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:02:04 -0800

Should we apply for this store credit card or just pay the cash that we have? My husband and I are both 22 year old working adults with minimal debt. We just purchased our first home at the end of January. We both have credit scores above 750. We just recently got approved for and have used a new credit card with a $7500 limit with no payments or interest for 6 months (through BOA). That card is in both of our names. We each have a card with no more than a $2000 limit also from BOA. The only other cards we have we do not use and have not used in years. (They include a David’s Bridal card, IKEA, & a “funancing” card from GE).

We are getting ready to purchase a table and chair set for our dining room and they (the retailer we are looking into) are offering a credit card that, if approved, offers 0% interest for a year and you get a $25 gc back for every $250 or so spent. We would be getting back roughly $100. So my question is, should we apply? I do not want to do anything to harm my credit score or his. Most of those cards mentioned above are in my name. My husband only has the Visa that has both our names and then his BOA Visa with a $2000 limit. Should we apply under his name?

Thank you so much in advance for any advice!

No debt. Dropping credit score. What can we do to keep our credit score up?

nomad73 — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:55:47 -0800

No debt. Dropping credit score. What can we do to keep our credit score up? My wife has no debt. She has paid off her student loan and carries zero credit card debt. She probably charges about $1500 a month to her card for every day things and then pays it off in full. She has three credit cards but only uses one for the most part.

Over the past year her credit score has dropped from the low 800s to the mid-to-low 700s. What can she do to keep it from dropping further? Is it a good idea to carry a small balance on her card from month to month? How much is enough? $10? And for how long? Any other strategies for keeping the credit score from dropping further? We're looking into applying for mortgages soon, so this is why it is of particular concern. And if you ask me, it seems pretty crazy that someone so responsible with their debt can have a dropping credit score.

Please help me fix my credit report!

mingodingo — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:14:43 -0800

After ordering my credit report, I found that there were two bills sent to collections in 2006. Upon further investigation, I discovered that these were for unpaid cable bills and cable equipment that was never returned by my old roommates after I moved out--what do I do? My credit report lists two amounts sent to collections (one for about $40 and the other for $250). When I called the listed collections agency, I found out that the $40 was for an unpaid cable bill and the $250 for cable equipment that was never returned after the account was closed.

However, I had not lived in the apartment in question for a year at the time of these bills. I had moved to another state, and my two remaining roommates stayed in that apartment for another year. I was almost certain that we had changed the name on the cable bill from mine to theirs, but apparently we either forgot to do so, or the cable company screwed up and never changed the name per our request.

One concern I have about paying the bill (or getting my former roommates to pay it) is that I heard paying off a collections amount can actually further hurt your credit score, as the "paid collection" notation stays on the report longer.

So, my question(s): Do I pay the bill or try to get my roommates to pay it? Do I ignore it? Do I contest it somehow (and if so, how do I go about doing this)? Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Where can I find this music?

legendarygirlfriend — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:41:06 -0800

Help needed finding sheet music for Purcell's "When I am Laid in Earth" from Dido and Aeneas This is probably a big long shot, but I need to find a printed copy of Dido’s Farewell/Dido’s Lament/When I am Laid by Purcell. The catch is that I need the Recitative (Thy hand, Belinda) in E flat and the Aria in B flat. The original key for both is B flat. I know that the Recit exists somewhere out there in E flat, because I have a photocopy of it that I likely took from a book at the Toronto Reference Library, but I can’t remember exactly since I got it about 3 years ago.

I’m in Toronto and I’ve checked Remenyi, the RCM, the U of T music library and the Toronto Reference Library, but no one seems to have it with the E flat Recit. The Photocopy that I have doesn’t give any indication to who the publisher was. The only semi-distinguishing thing about it is that it called the piece Dido’s Farewell whereas most versions call it When I am Laid or Dido’s Lament. Does anyone know of anywhere (online is fine too) where I can buy a printed copy of this piece?

I saw a really cool ad for Fight Club featured on the awesome channel G4. What I am after is the soundtrack to that ad, does anyone know what it was? Or possibly where there are scores like it?

bostonhill — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:29 -0800

I saw a really cool ad for Fight Club featured on the awesome channel G4. What I am after is the soundtrack to that ad, does anyone know what it was? Or possibly where there are scores like it? It was basically a 30 second really intense drum beat. I know this is vague, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

High GPA Versus Low GRE

Delfena — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:51:46 -0800

Does a high GPA make up for a low GRE score for grad school admissions? Should I send my scores to schools if they are "recommended" but not required? I'm scheduled to take the GRE in two weeks. I took a Princeton Review study course over the summer, but didn't improve as much as I would have liked. My practice test score is around 1160, but I did receive a 5 (out of 6) on both writing sections. I'm applying to 4 grad schools, and only one of them requires GRE scores. My question is, should I send my scores to the schools that only "recommend" but not require them? If I do, and they end up being low (around my practice score), will my 3.98 GPA and good letters of rec make up for it? Would it look bad if I didn't send in my scores at all? Oh, my field of study is Urban Planning, and the schools I'm applying to are Portland State, NYU, UC Irvine, and the University of British Columbia. (UCI is the one that requires the GRE) Thanks!

I'm looking for individual track mp3's from film scores

Flying Saucer — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:02:07 -0800

Is there a way to buy individual film score tracks without buying the album? I've been looking for some film scores to add to my collection but have been stymied.

On iTunes, a number of soundtracks are classified as "album only," meaning one has to pay $9.99 for the entire CD; though I only want one track, I'd have to pay for all the others -- which strikes me as very contrary to the spirit and purpose of iTunes. Amazon doesn't sell these titles individually or at all.

I'd like to give the composers some money, but not $10 for one track. I have thought of buying the CD's used, but the ones I found are close to $10 and thus not a solution.

Does anyone know of a site to acquire any of the following? They're all main title themes:

Rudy
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Days of Heaven
For Love of the Game
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Those are all I can think of at the moment. Thanks for your help.

Test: Skill :: MAT : ?

Miko — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:21:55 -0800

MAT vs. GRE: Does it matter? The graduate program I'm applying to [American Studies with a certificate in Public Culture and History] requires either the GRE -or- the MAT.

I don't want to take both and won't have time to take either more than once between now and the application deadline. I'm inclined to take the MAT because it's shorter, cheaper, and I think I have good skills at logical analysis. Evidence suggests I would probably do very well on the GRE verbal, but low-mediocre-to-very-poor on the mathematics.

My question is this: is there any reason to think one is a better choice than another? Funding? Strength on the application? Fit with field? Just want to make sure I don't create a detriment. Thanks for anything you can offer.

mo money mo problems

randomstriker — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:55:15 -0800

Why is my credit score so @#!%$ing low? I am in a better financial position than anyone I know in my age / earnings category. I've never had any long-term debt whatsoever. No loans, mortages, nothing.

I always pay my credit card balances in full. The only payment I missed in recent years was one for less than $50.

I make $75,000 annually, and save at least a third of it.

I have over $100,000 in cash or short-term deposits, and a lot more in other assets.

So why the !@#!%!% is TransUnion giving me a credit score of 665, in the bottom quartile for Canadians? Of course they were completely unhelpful on the phone when I asked them.

This is affecting my success at applying to rent a new apartment.

Should I apply for a real credit card or a store card to boost my credit score?

shimon — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:06:38 -0800

Recently relocated to US, trying to build credit - already got a secured credit card, should I get a store credit card or try for a real one? I relocated to the US 6 months ago and have been gainfully employed since. I got a secured credit card upon arrival and have been diligently using it and paying off the balance each month.

I've recently started getting credit card offers in the mail which I'm assuming means my credit rating is now starting to rise.

What are my next steps? Should I apply for a "real" credit card? A store card? both?

Is there any advantage in having a store card? Is this considered in a different category than secured and unsecured cards in terms of diversity of credit (supposedly having a positive affect on one's credit score)?

My goals are to raise my credit score, I have no intention of carrying a balance.

What makes a score to a WWII movie or tv show have that distinctive "sound" to it?

educatedslacker — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:15:05 -0800

What makes a score to an American WWII movie or tv show have that distinctive "sound" to it? I'm sure I'll do a terrible job of explaining what I mean, but I've been watching Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan recently and there's just something about the soundtracks that just scream "This is a WWII-related program!" What is it about those scores that evoke that feeling? Trumpets? Did any of the classical composers make songs similar to those, or is it only a more recent John Williams and Hans Zimmer-esque thing?

In a related question, which soundtracks with that theme/feeling/sound are the best?

Who Made This Lovely Music?

LeeJay — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:16:25 -0800

I am looking for the source of the music in a time-lapse video. I have been wondering for quite a long time where the music for this video (WARNING: link leads to large time-lapse video) came from. I swear I've heard it before. Sounds like the score to a movie I've seen. Anyone know where I can find this? I think it's beautiful. (I first came across this video here, in a post to Mefi.)

Debt charged off and reported without asking me for payment

0xFCAF — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:16:38 -0800

Is a company required to make a good faith effort to collect on a debt before reporting it as charged off? Do I have any recourse for my credit report? I seem to have the opposite problem of everyone else on the internet - I can pay my bills, and collectors won't start calling me.

Here's the full story: About three years ago I moved and neglected to change my address with my cell phone provider (Verizon). Since I stopped getting bills, out of sight, of mind, and I didn't pay for about two months. When I tried to make a call and got redirected to their billing department, I realized what I had done. Their automated system offered a total amount due (about $150 if I recall) and I paid it using a credit card over the phone. I switched to automatic credit card payments and continued to have uninterrupted service with Verizon for another two years, at which point I closed my account and switched to a different provider.

I checked my credit report recently and found that I had a ~$30 item from Verizon listed as "Charged Off as Bad Debt". This item originated about five months after I originally paid off what I thought was the due balance on my account.

In the intervening three years, I was never contacted by a collection agency nor Verizon about the amount supposedly due. They certainly could have - they had my address and obviously my phone number, but it seems they made no attempt to inform me of this debt or collect on it. They certainly could have just deducted it from my credit card since I had automatic payments set up. Now it's the only bad thing on my credit report and I'd like to get rid of it.

Assume for the purposes of this discussion that I really don't care if the $30 is legitimate or not, and that I'm willing to pay it + interest to get rid of the item on my credit report.

General questions I'm tossing out:
* Is it OK for companies to report a charged off debt without even trying to collect on it?
* Will Verizon even accept payment on something "charged off" ? If so, will that change the status of the report?
* Can I get this completely erased by any means?
* Is the dispute process with the credit reporting agencies something that might actually work in this case?
* How much is it actually affecting my credit score?

Quality ad video downloads

uncleozzy — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:57:59 -0800

Where can I download good-quality clips of (your current favorite) TV ads? Bonus points for visually-interesting spots without voiceover or dialogue. I've realized that my job stinks and, in addition to a number of other brands I've got in the fire, I'd like to try my hand at scoring TV, film, and ads. I understand that it's helpful to have a demo reel, but the only credit I've got so far is a short, unimpressive snippet in a (BAFTA-winning!) short animation.

I'd like to re-score neat ads (or other videos) both to develop such a portfolio and to work on my scoring chops. Any suggestions of specific ads or, generally, places to download better-than-YouTube-quality video are appreciated (it's got to be save-able; I'd appreciate not having to jump through hoops to save .FLV, too).

Feel free to tell me that this isn't a good way to build a demo reel (I've read a few articles that claim it's acceptable) or that freelancing in this industry is not a good idea, too; the back story wouldn't be there otherwise.

Thanks!

Mystery Mixtape Movie Score Track: Elfman, Zimmer & Kazoos

vanoakenfold — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 05:00:39 -0800

Help me identify this mystery track from my friends' mix CD, that he can't recall either. No sample available, yet! It's more than likely a movie score track. Cross between 1941, Elfman, Zimmer, Willow, and involves kazoos in places. In short, to me it sounds like a Pee Wee's Big Beetlejuice Great Escape, featuring periodic Kazoo backups as performed by an Elfman/Zimmer team-up. The friend suggested Chicken Run. but none of the samples on Amazon have a passage found in it. The disc was made 2004 at the latest, I wager. but seems more like around 2000 that he gave it.

Here's my description to said friend, if that helps any:

"If the next mystery track is not Elfman or Zimmerman, despite being a little too POTC-1941-ish, I'm not sure what is. It has a brief high flute intro, flowing strings and brief resounding brass, followed by some marching snare and a tooting low brass, a clarinet solo with some kind of muffled piano accompaniment, then sharply accellerates into a cross between Beetlejuice, 1941 and Willow, with Hans Zimmer looking over his shoulder. And with stacatto-ish low strings. And kazoos."

The track itself is 3:36, no overt vocals (except some Elfman-ish oohs and aahs)

Super detailed description:

00:00-00:12 - very soft strings slowly emerge, gradually adding a slackpaced flute/piccolo solo of the main theme..
00:13-00:26 - the lower strings crescendo into the fray with a smooth and delicate flowing movement and the high strings pick up where the flute left off, followed by flute again.
00:27-00:31 - after a brief pause, soft middle brass comes in with a soft trumpet solo...
00:32-00:35 - solo marching-pace snare
00:36-00:44 - baritone or trombone picks up the pace with a rising triple-it lead-in as a tooting flute/piccolo makes a little twittering song vaguely resembling LOTR's shire theme
00:45-00:46 - trombone/brass rises suddenly to cut the festivities off and stops just as quickly...
00:47-01:00 - a distinctly Elfman muffled piano (or plucked low strings), middle speed pace, down-up-down-up style, with a clarinet fluttering in the background with possibly mandolin accents...
01:01-01:17 - brief unexpected pause, resume same arrangement but faster paced, momentarily adding strings, with a young-ladies aah-aah-aah vocal (characteristic of Elfman, comparable to Edward Scissorhands), periodic swirling violins and trilling clarinets...
01:18-01:22 - brief brass fanfare-like introduction with cascading strings...
01:23-01:28 - returning up-down-up-down with piano/plucked low strings, repeat formula with periodic brass mini fanfares...
01:29-01:32 - A [Batman Animated Series]-sounding spat...
01:33-01:56 - A bold trombone loudly declares the main theme with a Zimmer-like steady-paced strum-strum-strum sound from the mid-to-lower strings. Repeat main theme again but with a trumpet-trombone teamup, with a snare jointing the two, then add (keeping the steady background) a brave violin section counter/sub-melody, with a quick fluttering of timpani toward the end, and a solid brass cap on the end before a brief pause...
01:57-02:00 - kazoos pick up a repeated tail of the main theme pattern...
02:01-02:15 - French horns break in to the renewed steady background to repeat the main theme in all their glory (I can almost detect the snares' "shhhhhh" in response)
02:16-02:46 - Tubular bells accents, flowing middle-to-high strings pick up the sub/counter melody like gliding over a still lake, with kazoos peeking in around 02:22-:26, handing the baton to a forceful solo flute who keeps the joyful pace, passes to the high strings, and into a cymbal crescendo for the win and a sudden halting of the pace in a serious "whoa" rein-tugging into a similarly paced but brief Batman section,
02:47-03:12 - a very low and soft faster-paced Jaws passage, with the Violins with Parkinsons section creeping up, a few taps to the snare and we're back into the main theme with peppy steady-handed strings and kazoos murmuring in the background...
03:13-03:16 - Kazoos simmer down, piping flute accents periodically against the familiar steady low-string background pace...
03:17-03:36 - the pace slacks up again with the last string of the theme going slo-mo, a lonesome and regretful french horn not to be outdone, adds a mournful "awww, man!" and cuts off just as the strings taper off.

I hope you have as much fun finding this track as I did doing commentary!

does whatever a spider pig does

meijusa — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:43:20 -0800

spider pig, spider pig: where can I get the sheet music for piano and the choir libretto for this simpsons movie song? My google searches haven't turned up anything useful with these keywords. I tried to just play it until it sounds about right, but so far it doesn't. Also, I'd like to get the instructions for the choir. Oh, and then, eventually, I'd like to get it out of my head.

How does paying a loan off early affect your credit score?

mi6op — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 21:26:36 -0800

How does paying a loan off early affect your credit score? I would assume that it would make your score higher. Also I applied for a capital one personal loan. I have a credit score above 750 and reported income of 100k + w/ very little expenses. The rate they offered me was 12.99 which is the highest available from their lowest available of 6.99. What gives, I figure I should prove to be a fairly safe investment.

Are credit-based insurance rates the new insurance scam?

Flakypastry — Fri, 04 May 2007 13:45:14 -0800

What's the real story with Insurance Credit Scoring? My insurance agent called and offered to rewrite my auto policy based upon my Insurance Credit Score. He said that based upon my excellent rating (a "1" out of 10), I would save a tremendous amount (50%) of money on my policy. When I asked him to explain how the ICS is different from a traditional credit score, he tried to explain it to me, but in the end said that the companies that come up with the score use a "proprietary" formula for calculating the scores, based upon credit history, stability, etc. Some other points: if I switch to the credit-based score, I cannot switch back to a traditional policy, and the insurance company would repull my score every three years to determine rates.

This just seems problematic to me. Googling this issue tells me that it's problematic to other people too, for lots of reasons. For one thing, my future rates will not be based upon my accident or claim history alone, but my credit. I don't envision my credit going south in a hurry, but something just doesn't smell right here.

Does anyone know the real story behind these Credit Scores? And is this the new reality of the insurance industry, whether I like it or not? I'm not complaining about saving a ton of money, but doesn't this seem like a tremendous risk?

(The company is Allstate and the State is NH)

Can unsavory purchases end up on a FICO score?

zek — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 17:11:59 -0800

Is there any credible possibility that credit card purchases of unsavory items (beer, cigarettes... well I don't smoke but you get the idea) might make their way indirectly onto a FICO score or be found out by lenders? Standing at the liquor store with a six of Boddingtons I can't help wondering if I should be paying cash.