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[The_Cat]

If Prosper was smart, they would automatically score loans with "Credit Card Consolidation" and "Paying off debt" with a -150 penalty automatically. 

What would the penalty be for "Please help God Bless", and  "You've gotta help me" loans?

[regnurse]

I guess I am an example of Prosper scoring being tougher:

Loan Amount: 13,500
10y/20y/Current DQs: 0 / 0 / 0

Before / Now

Credit score: 680 / 760
Credit Lines: 33 / 29
Active Lines: 25 / 22
Balance: 23,316 / 18,841
Utilization: 67% / 57%
DTI: 41% / 38%
Inquiries: 2 / 0
Rating:  C / D

Although my numbers have improved in every category, I receive a lower score for the same loan amount than previously. Still, I think that is a really big problem to give someone with proven non-payment the highest rating.

[lenderguy]

Another absurdity in the new scoring model is that there are too-sharp breaks between credit grades for trivial changes in requested loan amount.  For example, in the OP's case, she drops from an A to a C simply by increasing her requested loan amount from $11,850 to $11,900.  Does anyone really think there is any appreciable difference in risk (much less two letter grades) for seeking an extra $50?  Another person posted that he/she dropped THREE grades (from a AA to a C) by requesting a tiny bit more money (it might have been as little as $1, IIRC, but certainly wasn't more than $100). 

Furthermore, borrowers will figure out how to use these anomalies to game the system.  A borrower in the OP's situation who planned to seek $11,900 (and let's assume that his/her risk is accurately reflected as a C) will simply seek $$11,850 instead, to artificially mislead lenders into thinking that he/she is a much better risk than in reality -- going from a C to an A will be the difference between funding or not, or a very substantial difference in ending interest rate.  Indeed, Prosper itself may assist borrowers in such gamesmanship, as it did at least once before -- when lenders figured out that borrowers seeking $25K were a significantly worse risk than those seeking $24K, Prosper programmed its website to always inform borrowers who sought $25K that their loan might not fund because lenders viewed $25K loans with suspicion, and suggesting seeking $24K instead.   

Same deal with utilization... I think I saw a two-letter grade swing based on my credit card usage in previous months.  Of course, the utilization thing is a bit harder to game, 'cause if you don't have the money to pay it down, you don't have the money.