<prompt> Human: So when I was in college I didnt receive any support from my parents and wasnt eligible for any additional loans or pell grants to help cover my living expenses. During college I broke my wrist in 2010 which left me with 3000 dollars in emergency fees when I went to the hospital despite having insurance regretted that decision. I also came down really sick in 2012 and was forced to go to the doctors again leaving me with another bill of 400. At the time I was struggling to afford food and rent and so was unable to pay the bills which were then sent to collections. Im now out of college and have a good job and steady income. I havent had any contact or made any payment on the debt since i incurred it.I wanted to know what is my best option to improve my credit: pay the collection agencys which now have the debt, wait for the debt to be cleared Ive heard that debt is forgiven after 7 years or are there any other options? Any help would be appreciated.  <response>: The one from 2010 should be off your credit reports soon, and you can usually get them removed from your credit reports 3-6 months earlyFor the one from 2012 if you want to pay the original doctor it and get it removed from your credit reports you can follow this process: Paying the debt collector for old debt wont improve your credit scores unless they agree to remove it from your credit reports get this in writing. Actually if it hasnt been updated recently just paying it might lower your scores.In terms of your credit scores, do you have any open positive lines of credit? If not I would open a decent secured credit card watch out for fees as quickly as possible. 