<p>Do freshman have much of a need for checking accounts(if mom is paying the tuition bill)? Or is a savings account with an ATM card enough? Any opinions on which bank/credit union too pick(best service & products offered)? If a checking account is important, will the local branches allow 17 year olds to open a checking account?<br>
Cell phones: Do most students keep their "home" cell phone number? Or do you switch your cell phone number to one with a Pasadena Area Code?<br>
Thanks</p>
<p>The Caltech Credit Union is probably the way to go: minimal fees, free ATM on campus, low-rate student Visa credit card available. They do have checking accounts available but I don't think I've ever seen a Techer write a check. Most retail outlets don't take checks, only a few of them will accept ATM cards, and it's a bad idea to carry large quantities of cash, so it's probably a good idea to get your kid a credit card for grocery stores and Target.</p>
<p>Now I'm confused..don't the grocery stores & Target take ATM cards in Pasadena? (maybe it just has to be a debit card with the visa or mastercard symbol on it).</p>
<p>I am going to answer in general terms because I have two kids in college in two different states, neither one our home state.
What banks have the closest ATMs on campus, so your kid can get money without paying an ATM fee? Does bank have office near your home so you can easily put money in your kid's account? For this reason one of my kids has account with Bank of America and the other has account with Wachovia. With a savings account/ATM, your kid will have to carry cash or be sure that every transaction can be paid with a debit card. Both of my kids have student checking accounts, because the are free and don't have a minimum balance. I don't think you want to have just an ATM card -- both my kids have ATM/Visa. That way they can go out without a lot of cash.<br>
Not sure about needing to be a co-owner on a 17 year old. If you are a co-owner, you can keep track of your child's account with on-line banking. Here, the big banks have free on-line banking with student accounts.
If your cell phone plan already has nationwide long distance, no roaming charges, blah, blah, blah, then there is no need to change cell phone plan. We have a family plan, so I see everbody's calls. Most kids keep their home numbers. The apparent phone calls I see to NYC, New Hampshire, Colorado are the friends down the hall.</p>
<p>My son didn't need to actually write checks until he was off campus and had to pay rent, utilities, etc.</p>
<p>On day the students arrive, there are many booths with bank accounts and cell phones. Had I to do all again, I would have left S on family plan ( it was out-of-state & I didn't realize how few calls he would make), or I'd do a pay as u go plan. Also, most charges on Caltech bill for on-campus grocery store and restaurnats. He did chose Wells Fargo for bank account and eventually, a credit card. Mainly, he uses family credit card</p>
<p>If you use a family plan, your child can call home without running up long distance or roaming charges. Therefore, you may want to get him a phone number local to his college. Otherwise, long distance charges will mount up for calls made to your child's new college friends who are sitting perhaps a few hundred feet away. Your local cell phone store can set up a number local to the college. It's not necessary to wait and do it at the college.</p>
<p>Most banks require that accounts for children under 18 be custodial accounts. </p>
<p>Be sure your child uses his ATM card before he leaves home to make sure it works.</p>
<p>CEFCU is the way to go really, if you're under 18 when you open an account you can have it as a joint and it will be under the child's name when he turns 18. They're the most convenient as you can get online banking, and an ATM card (no fees with the ATM that's right on campus near the bookstore) and yeah.</p>
<p>I've gotten through a year without a checking account and I still don't see much of a use for it since I'm paying off credit cards and everything else using online bank transfers.</p>
<p>I spoke with the Caltech Credit Union today & a 17 year old, Caltech student can have an individual account. Thanks for all the info! Great to know he can pay off credit cards using online bank transfers. They also explained to me how I can easily transfer money into his account from my bank account here in Oakland.</p>
<p>EllenF: your cell phone company charges you for long distance? Time for you to switch providers.</p>
<p>Do students have land lines? or does everybody just have cell phones so long distance(or different area codes) doesn't matter? I think EllenF was considering students without cell phones but a land line instead who might be calling someone down the hall who only has a cell phone with a different area code (right?).</p>
<p>I don't know anyone with a land line (or if they have one, they don't use it.) It's a lot more convenient to just use your cell.</p>
<p>You don't get a land line in your room unless you pay a small monthly fee for it, so I understand that almost no students end up having one. I did see a few payphones in the house I was in (ruddock) at prefrosh weekend.</p>
<p>Each alley (hall) has a landline phone. I haven't seen a payphone anywhere.</p>
<p>Ah sorry, guess it was a landline instead of a payphone- guess my memory isn't as good as I thought it was.</p>
<p>I just set up a wells fargo checking account in preparation for caltech (used to use a local bank). Bring proof that you are enrolled in caltech (the "congratulations on accepting your caltech admission letter) and you can get free college checking, which only differs from regular free checking in that you have free online bill pay. Obviously they include this because college students probably rarely use it, but you can actually send checks to relatives, etc... for free with it, which is very cool.</p>
<p>You also get the checking card (visa logo with 'debit' printed on it), and from my experience as a clerk, I can assure you that you will have no problems paying for stuff with it as opposed to a 'regular' credit card. Only real limitation is $300 daily limit for ATM and $1000 point of sale limitation, neither of which matter very much and are really just security.</p>
<p>I'm rambling now, but the point is that it is pretty dang painless, and the online account managment stuff is pretty useful.</p>
<p>Oaklandmom was correct: I was mostly referring to land line calls, although some cell plans still have limited long distance, as does my current plan. </p>
<p>Steelpangolin, I don't often use my cell phone so prefer to have a cheap plan. How else could I afford to pay tuition bills?</p>
<p>Regarding bank accounts - in many states custodial accounts do not revert to the child until he reaches age 21. However, I don't know what the law is in California.</p>
<p>EllenF: I have T-Mobile, and even their super-cheap prepaid $100 per year plans have free long-distance, so I propose that your provider is definitely taking you for a ride.</p>
<p>And yeah, nobody has land lines. At what Tech used to charge they're actually more expensive than a cell phone and got <em>really</em> ugly if you wanted long distance.</p>
<p>mmcduff, I have Wells Fargo, and while I love it for some reasons, be aware that it's one of the few banks these days that charges you to use an ATM other than their own.</p>
<p>In California, an 18-year old can have full control over his/her bank account.</p>
<p>The only potential problem with cell phones is crappy reception (there was another thread on this). I'd say paying for landline service is a terrible decision though.</p>