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If your credit score is 600, things could be worse. After all, scores start at 300.

But things could also be a lot better. Scores lower than 630 are considered poor, so you might be denied for credit cards and loans聽or pay high interest rates for the ones you do receive.聽A low credit score signals to lenders that you鈥檙e more聽likely to default on your debts.

A little more than 10%聽of credit scores fall聽in the 600-649 range, while almost 12% are between聽550 and 599, according to聽March 2016 data from credit bureau Experian.

The effect聽a 600 score聽will have on聽your financial life depends on whether you鈥檙e actively improving your credit or have been struggling.

First, find out why

If you鈥檙e not sure why you聽have a low score,聽check your credit reports. You can get a free report once per year from each of the three credit-reporting agencies: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.

Maybe mistakes聽on your reports have dragged down your score. If your information has been mixed with someone else鈥檚, for instance, that鈥檚 a fairly easy problem to fix. Simply聽dispute the聽errors聽with the credit bureau.

Most people who have scores of 600 or lower, though, have a history of making聽late payments or failing to pay at all, according to Jeff Richardson, spokesman for聽VantageScore, one of the two main credit scoring agencies. 鈥淢ost often those with very low scores have had a number of delinquencies, which leads to a default, combined with a high utilization鈥� of their available credit, he says.

What it means if you鈥檙e at 600 and rising

If you鈥檝e been building聽your credit and have made it to聽600, you might qualify for some products that were out of reach before, but you鈥檒l pay more to borrow than you would if your score were higher. Still, if your options until now have been truly terrible, these less-than-stellar terms might feel like a godsend.

Here鈥檚 what to expect:

• You might now聽qualify for an apartment, although your chances will improve聽if you can get your score up to at least 620. The landlord determines the minimum聽acceptable score.

• If you want a credit card, consider an alternative:聽鈥淐onsumers with poor credit scores 鈥� less than 630 鈥� are generally best off with a聽secured credit card,鈥� says NerdWallet credit card expert Sean McQuay. These cards聽require you to make an upfront deposit that serves as collateral in case you don鈥檛 pay, and they generally have an annual fee. A retail card is another possibility; some discount stores, in particular, might have lower credit score requirements than banks do.

• If you聽want聽to buy a car, you won鈥檛 get the best rates, but dealerships聽are accustomed to credit-challenged customers, says NerdWallet auto writer Phil Reed. Chances are you can get some wheels if you have enough聽income to make payments. 鈥淎uto loans are different, with a bit more flexibility than other loans, mainly because the car is the collateral,鈥� Reed said. His advice: Be patient and compare offers. Loans targeted at those with subprime credit can be unreasonably costly.

• You can probably get a聽personal loan, but the interest rate might be 20% or higher, says NerdWallet personal loans writer Amrita Jayakumar. Some lenders 鈥� including Avant, OneMain Financial and Ascend 鈥� will consider applications from borrowers聽with 600 scores. Then there鈥檚 Peerform,聽a marketplace lender that matches poor-credit borrowers with investors who fund their loans, and Backed, which gives those with poor credit better terms if they have a co-signer, she says. 鈥淟enders like Upstart consider college grads whose score may be low because of a thin credit file,鈥� she adds.

What it means if you鈥檙e at 600 and dropping

If you鈥檙e at 600 and struggling not to drop further, your situation is different. Maybe you鈥檝e had a series of late payments or have debts in collections. These are signs that your financial situation is unstable.

Here鈥檚 what to know:

• You might have heard that borrowing money and repaying it is a good way to build credit, and that鈥檚 true. But taking on debt you can鈥檛 afford won鈥檛 help. If you聽want聽to borrow money because you have bills you can鈥檛 cover, it鈥檚 possible聽credit counseling聽or聽bankruptcy聽would be聽better聽solutions.

• Only聽apply for credit聽if you鈥檙e聽relatively confident you鈥檒l be approved. Every application 鈥� whether you鈥檙e approved or not 鈥� can cause a small, temporary drop in your credit score, and those can add up. You don鈥檛 want to lose the points without getting聽the credit.

• The very best thing you can do is pay all your debts on time and whittle down the balances on your credit cards. (Experts recommend using no more than 30% of your overall limit, and less is even better.) If you do that and keep accounts open, you鈥檒l start聽building your credit score聽鈥� and eventually become eligible for credit products with friendlier terms.

Bev O鈥橲hea is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:聽boshea@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:聽@BeverlyOShea.

This story originally appeared on NerdWallet.