Small Habits Paying Off

Recently, I applied for a $1,500 private student loan through Sallie Mae, without a co-signer. I successfully prequalified myself so I thought my odds would be pretty good. I could've added a co-signer, which would've had to be my grandma since she is the only one in my family with relatively good credit, but recently had her credit tanked by someone else she co-signed for, and I felt like $1,500 was a small enough loan that I could handle it myself.

Sallie Mae pulled my TransUnion report, and saw the following data:

1. 718 FICO Score

2. Exceptional Payment History, No Negatives

3. 3% revolving utilization, 95% installment utilization

4. 3 student loans (in deferment), 5 credit cards

5. Oldest account 9 months, youngest account 2 months, average age 5 months

6. 2 inquiries in the past 12 months

I've paid my credit card statement balances in full by the due date every month, as well as paying small amounts towards my student loans to chip away at the interest.

My final APR was 12.965%, when the full range they offer is 2.89% to 17.49%. Not the best, but understandable given my thin file. I plan to pay it off quickly anyways.