{"id":372,"date":"2011-12-05T18:58:53","date_gmt":"2011-12-05T22:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/?p=372"},"modified":"2011-12-05T19:06:18","modified_gmt":"2011-12-05T23:06:18","slug":"raising-your-fico-while-you%e2%80%99re-in-the-mba-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/raising-your-fico-while-you%e2%80%99re-in-the-mba-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Raising Your FICO While You\u2019re in THE MBA Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Larry Chiang writes about business <strong>school<\/strong>.<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><strong>After a Harvard Business School event, they wrote:\u00a0 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20100201040226\/https:\/\/media.www.harbus.org\/media\/storage\/paper343\/news\/2009\/04\/06\/Features\/What-They.Dont.Teach.You.At.Stanford.Business.School-3697062.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">What They Don\u2019t Teach You at Stanford Business School<\/a>\u201c. He spoke at a <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20100201040226\/https:\/\/bases.stanford.edu\/2009\/11\/02\/getting-an-internship-the-entrepreneurial-way-with-larry-chiang\/\" target=\"_blank\">BASES event<\/a>, did <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20100201040226\/https:\/\/bases.stanford.edu\/2009\/11\/11\/larry-chiang-bases-11-11-2009\/\" target=\"_blank\">Q&amp;A\u00a0 via text message<\/a> and now teaches us what<\/strong><strong>. If you liked his <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/bases.stanford.edu\/2009\/11\/02\/getting-an-internship-the-entrepreneurial-way-with-larry-chiang\/\" target=\"_blank\">BASES keynote<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/bases.stanford.edu\/2009\/11\/11\/larry-chiang-bases-11-11-2009\/\" target=\"_blank\">Q&amp;A\u00a0 via text message<\/a>,\u00a0 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/bases.stanford.edu\/2009\/11\/28\/what-they-still-dont-teach-you-at-stanford-gsb-about-scamming\/\" target=\"_blank\">What They STILL Don\u2019t Teach You at Stanford GSB About Scamming<\/a>\u201d <strong> and, \u201c<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog\/2011\/12\/05\/what-they-still-dont-teach-at-gsb-about-screwing-someone-hard\/\" target=\"_blank\">What They STILL Don\u2019t Teach at GSB About Screwing Someone Hard<\/a>\u201d you will like his latest post: <\/strong><strong>Raising Your <strong>FICO<\/strong> While You\u2019re in an <strong>MBA<\/strong> Program<\/strong><strong>. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Before he\u2019s done, your <strong>FICO<\/strong> credit <strong>score<\/strong> will jump even while you take on thirty grand more in scholarly debt. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><strong> <\/strong><\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/head-shot-larry-chiang.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"head-shot-larry-chiang\" src=\"https:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/head-shot-larry-chiang.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"149\" height=\"223\" \/><\/a>By <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/What-Teach-Stanford-Business-School\/dp\/0615301487\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Larry Chiang<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>C<\/strong><strong>ongrats on getting into your <strong>MBA<\/strong> program.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you are one of the lucky few on company scholarship, count   yourself fortunate. If you\u2019re financing it yourself, lets boost your   future <strong>school<\/strong> loan financing alternatives by raising your <strong>FICO<\/strong> <strong>score<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Yes, my soon-to-be captain of industry, you CAN manipulate, hack and alter your <strong>FICO<\/strong> credit <strong>score<\/strong> for the better. I am your mentor for \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">deep underground credit knowledge<\/a>\u201d and am a master of all things insightful and mundane with regards to credit <strong>score<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?hl=en&amp;q=larry+chiang&amp;btnG=Search\" target=\"_blank\">Google me<\/a>\u2026 I\u2019m sort of a big deal :-]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Thank me by sending text message love to  \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0650-283-8008\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0.  Call it and be freaked out when I  answer it. Or be overly courteous and  email chiang9@duck9.com, but  include my cell to bust through my spam  filter. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Here are 9 tips to raise <strong>FICO<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-1- Urban Myths Sink Ships.<br \/> The credit industry wants you dumb, stupid and in the dark. For example, the industry quotes the average <strong>FICO<\/strong> <strong>score<\/strong> to be <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/blogs\/alpha-consumer\/2008\/3\/21\/manipulating-your-credit-score.htm\" target=\"_blank\">678<\/a> or even as <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/blogs\/alpha-consumer\/2008\/3\/25\/boosting-credit-scores-for-a-fee-take-2.html\" target=\"_blank\">high as 700+<\/a>. The real average <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.mbablogs.businessweek.com\/WhatTheyDontTeachYouAtBusinessSchool\/archive\/2008\/11\/27\/www.duck9.com\/Student-Research-on-Credit-Literacy.htm\" target=\"_blank\">credit <strong>score<\/strong> is 585<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-2- Get a <strong>FICO<\/strong> Mentor.<br \/> To the benefit of my twelve readers this week, you can use my cell   number or Facebook Austin TX network page and I will mentor you. Who am   I? A guy who has credit educated college students and wrote the   bestselling, <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">tell-all book<\/a>: <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">What They Dont Teach You At Stanford Business School<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>-3- Snail Mail is Your BFF.<br \/> Snail mail is mail sent with a 41c stamp. BFF is \u2018best friend forever\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I have made <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/chronicle.com\/weekly\/v46\/i47\/47a05901.htm\" target=\"_blank\">millions <\/a>steering people towards a <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/blogs\/alpha-consumer\/2008\/3\/21\/manipulating-your-credit-score.htm\" target=\"_blank\">higher <strong>FICO<\/strong> <strong>score<\/strong><\/a>. The absolute biggest secret is that postage paid, old <strong>school<\/strong> stamps preserve your credit rights. Remember, FCBA stands for \u201cFair   Credit Billing Act\u201d\u00a0 \u2014 not the Fair Credit Biatching Act. Yes, 800   number systems were set-up to short-circuit your rights because voicing a   complaint does not document your problem in the eyes of the law (FCBA   and\u00a0FCRA \u2013\u201dFair Credit\u00a0Reporting Act\u201d).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-4- Know Your Derogatories.<br \/> Dispute borderline negatives after running your credit report. A huge   urban myth is that getting a credit report hurts your credit <strong>score<\/strong>\u2026 it does NOT. I repeat, getting your own credit report <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.creditcard.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">does not hurt your credit<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"20\" width=\"172\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"382\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/what-they-dont-teach-at-harvard-business-school.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"what-they-dont-teach-at-harvard-business-school\" src=\"https:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/what-they-dont-teach-at-harvard-business-school.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"240\" \/><\/a><br \/> <\/strong><br \/> My mentor, Mark McCormack, who wrote the book, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/What-Teach-Harvard-Business-School\/dp\/0553345834\">What They Don\u2019t Teach You At Harvard Business <strong>School<\/strong><\/a>\u201c.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Checking your own credit does not hurt your credit because it  is a  \u201cconsumer inquiry\u201d. There are three types of inquiries; consumer,   advertiser and credit. Credit inquiries are the only ones that hurt your   credit. Print and mail the from <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/free-credit-report-form.htm\" target=\"_blank\">HERE<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/free-credit-report-form.htm\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/free-credit-report-form.htm<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p> <strong>-5- Visualize Growth.<br \/> Track your <strong>FICO<\/strong> progress on a thermometer. Use one like the \u2018Jump-rope-a-thon\u2019 fundraising thermometer that you used in grade <strong>school<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-6- Get a Fake Mini Loan.<br \/> Make small purchases on a Visa\/MC account and pay off in full. This is   your fake mini loan: owing $20 to American Express, Discover or Capital   One Visa. Credit bureaus make no distinctions between $15.50 paid   on-time versus $15,500 paid on time. Ignore leveraging this TIP at your   own peril. Procrastinate taking action on this TRUTH and risk wallowing   in the lower percentiles.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ACTION: Take two seconds and <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/free-credit-report-form.htm\" target=\"_blank\">fill this<\/a> out and mail it in. <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/free-credit-report-form.htm\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/free-credit-report-form.htm<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-7- Give Good Google.<br \/> Get text message reminders you send yourself via google calendar. On   the11th and 21st of every month, I login to EVERY ACCOUNT to make sure   all are up-to-date.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I also list out every debt obligation on a manilla folder.  For  built in redundency, I also get paper bills (to my new dorm  address).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-8- Bastard Bills Are Killer.<br \/> Find the bastard bill(s) and deal with it\/them. An example of a bastard   bill is a parking ticket from a city you visited. It grows from a $20   violation to some amount over $100 (almost always). Settle this out by   negotiating directly with the original biller (and not the collection   agency that bought the debt).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For example, City Of Beverly Hills cited you for a $20  ticket.  You ignored it and now the bill is in collections for 5x the  original  amount. Paying the collector is a mistake. Dealing with the  collector  and listening to their threats and misinformation is a big,  big  mistake.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-8b- Orphan bills suck too.<br \/> Orphans develop when three people share a utility bill, but no one pays   the last bill and YOUR name is on the bill. If your name is on the  bill,  your credit report will get hit.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>SOLUTION: Pay bastards and orphans with a physical check.  Why?!  Checks are legal documents that tip to scale in your favor. Here  is  how: In the \u2018memo section\u2019 of the check, clearly label the bill to be   paid and reference number, \u201cparking ticket\u00a0 6707-9805 + penalties PAID   IN FULL\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Once the check is cashed, you now have the matter cleared if  you  keep a digital picture or photocopy to present to the credit  bureaus.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-9- Document It All In Writing.<br \/> Complaining in written form preserves your rights. Emailing or calling   does not. See my diatribe on FCBA \u2014 \u201cFair Credit Billing Act\u201d. Complain   in triplicate to get RESULTS: write in and cc <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.complaints.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Complaints.com<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.creditcard.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">CreditCard.org<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>-BONUS FICO CREDIT TIP- Pay It Forward.<br \/> Cut and paste this blog article to your <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/home.php#\/note.php?note_id=41082970702\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook in a note<\/a>. Tell other people about what you learned here. This POST IS NOT copywritten so cut and paste to pass this advice forward <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313im_\/https:\/\/bases.stanford.edu\/new\/wp-includes\/images\/smilies\/icon_smile.gif\" alt=\":-)\" \/> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Follow me on Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/larrychiang\" target=\"_blank\">@larryChiang<\/a> or join my 9 person <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Larry-Chiang\/92816130151\" target=\"_blank\">fan club on Facebook<\/a>. Remember, my book\u2019s 14 chapters are reprinted free at a website called <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/table-of-contents\" target=\"_blank\">BusinessWeek<\/a>. If you cannot sleep, watch my <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/webplay\" target=\"_blank\">90 minute panel<\/a> that would\u2019ve put half the room to sleep were it not for my dog Baxter storming the stage.<\/p>\n<p>Good luck hustling hard and watch your back. If you sponsor a party, I am hosting events at <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/bases.stanford.edu\/2009\/12\/10\/increase-your-fico-while-you-are-in-b-school\/www.duck9.com\/movie\" target=\"_blank\">Sundance<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313\/https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/13\" target=\"_blank\">SXSW<\/a>, don\u2019t change my deal <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184313im_\/https:\/\/bases.stanford.edu\/new\/wp-includes\/images\/smilies\/icon_wink.gif\" alt=\";-)\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>***** ARTICLE END *****<\/strong><\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"20\" width=\"96\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"382\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/what-they-dont-teach-at-harvard-business-school.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"what-they-dont-teach-at-harvard-business-school\" src=\"https:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/what-they-dont-teach-at-harvard-business-school.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"240\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Follow me on Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184308\/https:\/\/www.twitter.com\/larrychiang\" target=\"_blank\">@larryChiang<\/a> or join my 7 9 person <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184308\/https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Larry-Chiang\/92816130151\" target=\"_blank\">fan club on Facebook<\/a>. Remember, my book\u2019s 14 chapters are reprinted free at a website called <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184308\/https:\/\/www.whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/table-of-contents\" target=\"_blank\">BusinessWeek<\/a>. If you cannot sleep, watch my <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184308\/https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/webplay\" target=\"_blank\">90 minute panel<\/a> that would\u2019ve put half the room to sleep were it not for my dog Baxter storming the stage to co-moderate.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> Good luck hustling hard and effen follow up. If you have a start-up, you can sponsor a party I am hosting at <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184308\/https:\/\/bases.stanford.edu\/2009\/12\/04\/what-they-dont-teach-you-at-stanford-business-school-about-public-speaking\/www.duck9.com\/movie\" target=\"_blank\">Sundance<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184308\/https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/13\" target=\"_blank\">SXSW<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>DISCLOSURE: I don\u2019t make money from Fraiche. I don\u2019t make money from Topix. I do appreciate the <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184308\/https:\/\/www.ucms.com\/government-affairs-wins.html\" target=\"_blank\">monopoly that Congress\u00a0 granted and the FTC is enforcing<\/a>: It\u2019s the <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20091216184308\/https:\/\/thomas.loc.gov\/cgi-bin\/query\/z?c111:S.165.IS:\" target=\"_blank\">law<\/a> that states only companies that get college students to high FICO    scores (Duck9) can sell a credit card to that college student.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Larry Chiang writes about business school. After a Harvard Business School event, they wrote:\u00a0 \u201cWhat They Don\u2019t Teach You at Stanford Business School\u201c. He spoke at a BASES event, did Q&amp;A\u00a0 via text message and now teaches us what. If you liked his BASES keynote, the Q&amp;A\u00a0 via text message,\u00a0 \u201cWhat They STILL Don\u2019t Teach [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}