It depends on the person. Generally, it dings your score anywhere from 6-12 points per application (or, more accurately, per hard inquiry). This recovers over

It depends on the person. Generally, it dings your score anywhere from 6-12 points per application (or, more accurately, per hard inquiry). This recovers over the course of a few months and increases the score over the long term due to more available credit. If you're newer to credit in general, I've heard that it reduces your score more, possibly because the FICO algorithms don't quite know what type of risk you are yet. I've actually found that the proportion of used/new credit has a larger effect on credit score. Don't max out your credit limits, folks.