Bank Fair-- Is it worth waiting?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

Quick question: I’m an incoming student and I’ll be getting to campus soon. I’m planning to make a Bank of America account for at least the duration of my time at Brown-- but am I losing out if I make one now in my hometown, rather than waiting for the bank fair (the freebies!) during orientation?

2

My kid got a folding chair that she never used. That was a few years ago. The freebies tend to be stuff like traveling coffee mugs, frisbees, cooler bags, flash drives – all obviously labeled with the name of the bank. I doubt you’re passing up on anything really valuable, like an iPod. OTOH, some people really like collecting free stuff.

3

Do you need a college ID to get their student checking account?

4

I don’t think you need a college ID to get the student checking account. Just go ahead and set it up at home, unless you really want a beer coozy that says Bank of America on it. That’s the kind of thing you’ll be happy to have done so you can think of everything else during orientation.

5

This is consistent with my experience at our local branch. The major benefit of the student account is a zero minimum balance instead of a $1500 minimum balance to avoid fees, if I remember correctly. Also, if I remember correctly, this is available to people enrolled in high school or college and who are younger than age 23. So any evidence of enrollment will suffice. (You have a document or web page with your student ID number, correct?)

But you should double check these things when you go to open the account in case my memory is faulty or they have changed the rules.

EDIT: If you are not from the Providence area you will probably also have to inform B of A that you will be “travelling” to Providence for an extended period so they do not reject your ATM card as part of their fraud monitoring

6

Thanks all, for the good advice. I set up an account yesterday!

Just in case it’s useful for future students-- I didn’t need enrollment evidence (although I brought it just in case) and I was told that I didn’t need to set up an extended travel notice for the account. I do live in NY, though, so the proximity might be the reason for that.