<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Writing for my son, who doesn’t visit CC, though he hears about it a lot from me. What do you who are Brown students now, or parents who have students at Brown, do about banking, specifically checking accounts? Is there a branch of a bank you would recommend on campus? Would you suggest opening an account there from here to have money available immediately?</p>
<p>My brother (a rising senior at Brown) uses Bank of America in Providence, and it works fine for him. I will just be using my current bank because I already have a checking account through there, and I can just use an atm for cash.</p>
<p>my dad was saying when I go he's gonna have me set up an account at whatever bank is most convenient (from what I remember from the summer, i believe its bank of america) and just keep a bit over the minimum deposit in there, then when it starts to get low, my dad will transfer more money over. This way I can use the ATM and not worry about those pesky charges.</p>
<p>Bank of America is the most practical and accessible up there.</p>
<p>Momofthree.....when you drop your kid off freshman year, they make this banking as easy as can be. The main local banks have tables set up right in the student center (Faunce House) on move in day and once we unpacked the room, we headed over to Faunce and set up our child's bank account with her and an officer from the bank. Most of the banks seemed to offer similar things and convenience. She chose Sovereign (sp?) Bank which had a location right on Thayer Street which is the main street by the campus with many services (also was near her freshman dorm). They had enticements, of course. Like she got a pretty nice small duffle bag that she ended up using on weekends away with her team. She had brought a money order to Providence to deposit in her new bank account, from her home one. Also, everything she needed to know was explained to her. She got a credit/debit type card with it. We were part of this initial setting up with the bank so we felt good that it was taken care of right then though had assumed she'd be doing it during orientation week. But they set it up for kids to make it as easy as can be. She is going to a six week program at Harvard this summer and even found out that this bank is located in Cambridge so she can use the ATM machine this summer and it is pretty convenient. So far, so good. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>Sovereign worked out fine for me too. Can't get much more convenient than thayer...</p>
<p>sovereign has free student checking too</p>
<p>Thanks so much, all!! I was hoping there would be something like the table SoosieVT mentioned. We will get that cashiers check or money order ready in plenty of time, and be all set!</p>
<p>I thought Citizen Bank was the main one at Brown?</p>
<p>this may sound silly, but I don't even remember where citizens is...lol.</p>
<p>There Bank of America branches/atms everywhere where i live, having to do deal with other atm's when i get back from school is a hassle. Can someone tell me more about their checking accounts and their accesibility on campus?</p>
<p>There's a Bank of America ATM in Faunce House which is more or less in a central location. Faunce is the closest to a student center that we have so you'll be there...Also, on the side of the Brown Bookstore on Thayer there are BofA ATMs. I think in the mall they have a branch but double check that. Beyond that, I'm not too much use I'm afraid.</p>
<p>Citizen's bank is the one I use, and it offers free checking for 5 years to students or something along those lines. There is a full-service branch very close to Thayer st. I don't know of any full service Bank of Americas, though.</p>