NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of Americans are seeing their credit scores drop now that the U.S. government has resumed referring missed student loan payments for debt collection. But there are things you can do to help your score rebound.

Courtney Alev, consumer advocate at Credit Karma, said it's understandable that people have missed payments because of the mixed messages around student loans.

“We’re really at a moment of enormous empathy for the consumer,” she said. “But now it's critical to make a plan."

The U.S. Department of Education paused federal student loan payments in March 2020, offering borrowers relief during the economic chaos of the coronavirus pandemic.

Though payments technically resumed in 2023, the Biden administration provided a one-year grace period that ended in October 2024. Last month, the Trump administration restarted the collection process for outstanding student loans, with plans to seize wages and tax refunds if the loans continue to go unpaid.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, about 1 in 4 people with federal student loans were more than 90 days behind on payments at the end of March.

Here's what you should keep in mind:

How your credit score is calculated

A credit score is a formula that helps lenders determine how likely you are to pay back a loan. Credit scores are based on your history of payments and your credit utilization and range from 300 to 850.

Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, the three main credit bureaus, each have their own model to calculate credit scores.

Factors frequently used to calculate your credit score are:

— Bill payment history

— Length of credit history

— Current unpaid debt

— How much of your available credit you’re using (also known as credit utilization)

— New credit requests

— If you have had debt sent to collection, foreclosure, or a bankruptcy

How to check your credit score

Each of the three credit bureaus allow you to check your credit score for free at least once a year, and many banks offer this service as well.

Other companies such as NerdWallet, Credit Karma and WalletHub also offer the service.

How to know if your score is good

A score of 670 or higher is considered “good.” If your credit score is over 750, that's considered “great.”

“Fair” credit scores are in the 580-669 range, and a score below 580 is considered “poor.”

How to improve your credit score if it has dropped

In the first three months of 2025, 2.2 million student loan recipients saw their scores drop by 100 points, and an additional 1 million had drops of 150 points or more, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The study's authors attribute those changes to loans falling into delinquency, or 90 days or more of nonpayment, which is then reported to credit bureaus.