massive credit score decrease from student loans
hello,
i recently paid off two of my student loans with savings from a (temporary) second job that paid me in several large lump sums. these two accounts increased the interest rate a few years ago and were the majority of my overall monthly payments despite being approximately 1/3 of the total amount i owe. i stopped paying during the pandemic because i lost my job and was taking advantage of the deferrals. i paid off the past due balance a few months ago, but i have one outstanding month because they did not adjust my income based rate after my second job ended.
i still owe much more than i would like to, but now i can comfortably make the monthly payments on the lower interest remainder once they adjust for my current income. i expected to take a 50-100 point hit on my credit score from paying off these accounts, but this month i lost over 200 points. i was in the upper mid 700s prior to this and now i am in the low 500s.
how can i build back my score? i have paid off my credit card monthly for years, save for a couple months during moves/waiting for first paychecks (3, 5 years ago) and for one month during the pandemic. my only current outstanding balance will be paid off once they correct an error that inflated the charge. i was planning on applying for another credit card soon to separate my personal expenses and my expenses for contract work, but i assume my credit is too low to get one now. is there anything else i can do in the meantime or am i just going to be stuck with bad credit for a while?