[Swacer]

Thats quite the situation that many of us having leaving college at 20-21 years old. (25 yrs old myself now)

Really, one easy way was to have some school loans to your name and start paying for them immediately. (Been paying for some time now...Bucknell wasn't cheap sadly lol)

If you didn't go to college, or your parents were gracious enough to cover it for you, you're going to need to take some loans to your name.

A credit score is largely based on your debit to income ratio. Since you have no debt, and nothing outstanding, there is nothing to tell a bank that you're "trustworthy" for payments.

You could start with a credit cards, but the interest rates on them can be ridiculous. Start with small items, $1K here, $1K there. You "can" pay them back quickly, but that doesn't do much for your credit score. The faster you pay back, the less it helps yoru score. I know that doesn't make sense, but thats really how it works.

You could try with the credit cards, or you could try personal loans. You could go to a bank/credit union, and take out a small personal loan (say 5-6K). Pay it back slowly over the next year. That will boost your rating.

Additionally, get off that damn pre-paid phone. Verizon/AT&T (whatever you use) will run a credit check, and if you pay your bill monthly, that will also help.

Moral of the story is, you won't be able to get a credit rating worth a damn quickly. The rating scale doesn't work that way.

I'd say if you want a good rating, you're at least a year away. Some people can rush it in 6 months, but then your score will be in flux and could drop.

Additionally, 4% isn't bad, I got my car with $15K down with an excellent credit score at 3%.