<p>When I started college 25 years ago, I opened a checking account at the bank in my college town because we wrote checks (did not swipe cards) for our purchases, and we actually went to the branch to withdraw money (imagine that!). And businesses only took local checks. I was wondering if D needs to do the same. We do not live in state that has any overlap with banks in the state where she is going to college (already checked). I can't imagine she will write many (any) checks in college if she has a debit/ATM card and her student account card. The one thing I could think of as a reason to open an account, though, was free ATM transactions. Can other parents comment on whether their students have opened accounts in their new states? Can she open an account and just not order checks (to save $), but just get an ATM card? Thanks!</p>
<p>It depends on the bank, but I don't see why that should be a problem. The bank would certainly rather she use electronic transfers (eg debit) than paper cheques so I don't see why they would try to stop her from doing so.</p>
<p>We were in the same situation. My D found out that only 1 bank has an ATM on campus. To avoid ATM fees, she transferred her account to that bank, which also has a branch close by. She did this before arriving, because she heard that the first few days the bank is swamped with kids opening accounts and it can be a few hour wait. This way she already has the ATM card, and is good to go!</p>
<p>I was in the same situation--no banks in common between my hometown and my college town. Plus, at home I used a local bank. When I started college, I decided to stick with my bank from home, which I felt some loyalty towards (it's a really great bank in my area, and I worked there as a teller when I was young). It ended up being a hassle. I didn't like the ATM charges, and I couldn't go into the bank if I had an issue. I ended up switching to a bank near my college the next year. </p>
<p>Other issues to consider: Will your daughter be working on campus? If so, she may want to be able to deposit checks on campus. Will she likely be returning home to work next summer? If so, it may be convenient to keep the account at home. Is she over 18? If not, she'll likely have some trouble getting an ATM or debit card, in which case it's probably best if she has a bank near her college where she can withdraw money before she's able to get a debit card. Which bank has the best accounts and rates for her? Banks near colleges tend to have good student account options. Do you want to consider getting an account near the college while keeping an account open at home? Some parents like to be able to deposit money into their child's account, which would obviously be easier if you have easy access to the bank. Could online banking make any of these issues easier for you?</p>
<p>Having a chacking acct helps establish one's credit; so does having a savings acct. Those are a side benefit not everyone thinks of.</p>
<p>You can paypal funds to your students account with fairly low fees. Much lower than wire transfers. DS has an account at a bank which does not have a branch near our hometown. I have paypaled funds before. He does not have any paper checks. I think they gave him some starter ones when he opened the account. He has never used them. If he owes me money, he paypals it to me. (Doesn't happen too often).<br>
Everything else is paid by debit/ATM card or credit card. The credit card has a very low limit and he transfers funds online to pay credit card bill when he charges something so does not ever pay interest on CC purchases.
He uses BofA and we have been happy with their CampusEdge checking account.</p>
<p>My daughter has an acct at my bank. Even though it has a branch near the campus, she has never gone in there. She has her work check directly deposited to her bank acct at home. Her ATM card is also a master card, which she uses in stores. She probably only takes money out once a month because she uses her atm/master card for most of her purchases (Starbuck, bagel shop). She has never had to write a check yet. PayPal is also a great way of transferring fund. We don't pay a fee for it.</p>
<p>No, I do not think it is necessary to have an acct on campus.</p>
<p>Actually having a bank account is irrelevant to establishing credit. Having a credit card with the bank where you have your checking account and handling the card responsibly is how you establish credit. </p>
<p>It's not necessary to have a local bank account, because students seldom write checks anymore. And yes, the bank would love to let you have the checking account without the checks--ask them. </p>
<p>When D. went away we got her a checking/savings account and a credit card with a low limit all at the same bank. All of the accounts are linked and she has online access, so she can manage her money by logging on and moving money from savings to checking, or pay her credit card by transferring money from her checking account. </p>
<p>If your student is traveling alone or ordering things online, I highly recommend a credit card--you can ask the bank to set the limit at a level that won't get your student in trouble if that is a concern. If they get stranded in a strange city because of a canceled flight, I have the peace of mind of knowing she can check herself into a hotel or rent a car (yes, some places rent to under 25s--it just costs more) rather than camping in an airport.</p>
<p>Some banks make transactions thru certain ATMs be free. At my bank, all I have to do is find an ATM with a TransFund logo on it and I'm not charged any fees. Those ATMs are really common and can be found just about anywhere. The only reason I see to get an account at a bank by her school is if she has a job and will be depositing checks (If they are automatically deposited then I don't see a reason to do it.).</p>
<p>At school on that first day, US Bank had several tables set up all over campus to help new students set up accounts. They are in our bookstore and then have 2 or 3 locations in town as well. Only took a couple minutes to get the initial paperwork done and then I just had to wait for the debit card to arrive.</p>
<p>After reviewing everything here, we decided that we would open an account near school to avoid ATM fees. We investigated the two banks that are closest to campus, and picked the one that has 2 nearby ATMs (D figures that if one goes down, she can still get cash from the other). Turns out that this bank will also give them their first 50 checks free. And (bonus!) the account can be opened online from here. So we will open the account this week, which should allow time to get the ATM card here before she leaves for school. It will have our home address for her statements, but she can change that once she gets to school with a phone call or a stop at the branch after the rush thins out a little bit. Thanks to everyone for all the tips!</p>
<p>We never found the need to open an account near the college. The business office will cash $100.00 check each week for free if the need arises. Also, we didn't find the need for much cash. She used credit cards for most purchases (books, drug store, grocery store, etc) Cash was only needed for the occasional chinese food or pizza delivery. By using the credit card she has established credit. When she comes home for October break, Thanksgiving etc. we give her $100,00 which takes care of her cash needs.</p>
<p>S has had to write three checks in two years at his OOS school, one for off campus storage, one for the travel portion of a summer session class (the college dept wouldnt take a debit or credit card) and I cant remember the reason for the other.
He has a Bank of America acct which gave free checks (100 of them they'll probably last his whole lifetime).He got a low maximum credit card linked to the acct as well as a debit card.He also carries an American express card from our parental acct for emergencies (ie car repair,airline ticket,hospital ER,whatever).Its not used otherwise.
You can continue to have your childs statements sent to the home address,they can check any balance, keep track of expenses,etc online.They'll just lose the papers anyway!</p>
<p>I like my OOS kids to have a bank with a branch in the college town. S#2 had his wallet stolen and it was very convenient for him to be able to go to a branch near campus and withdraw money from his account until his debit and credit cards were replaced.</p>
<p>I started an almost identical thread on a school-specific site. My bank (and most others probably) has a student checking account that allows 12 transactions per month at another bank's ATM with no fee (something like 4 withdrawals, 4 balance requests, 4 something elses). I'm thinking it'll be a little easier to deal with his account because I also have an account at the bank. I think as long as I can get him in the habit of only getting cash out once a week, we should be okay. (And it occured to me that if he should ever want to transfer to another school, we can keep the same banking set-up.)</p>
<p>^ The problem usually isn't that your bank charges you for using the ATM, it's that the other bank charges you.</p>
<p>I'm not a student, but I've written checks ALL over the country from my local checking account here. In fact, I just got back from a trip out of my region (no branches of my bank where I was visiting) and I had no trouble writing checks while I was shopping.</p>
<p>That being said...both of my kids have college accounts at a national bank with branches almost everywhere. It makes it easy for me to deposit money into their accounts from here at home if necessary. </p>
<p>Neither of them writes checks. Both of them can have a check sent to a pay a bill through their bank.</p>
<p>We opened up an acct at a bank on campus (so he could withdraw funds without charges) that was local to us here (although not our bank).
Son got a debit/charge card. I don't think he withdrew cash more than once or twice a semester. To avoid charges, he could get "cash bacK" on a purchase at the drug store/grocery store, etc,. He does seem to debit everything even if it is just a couple of dollars.
It is a joint checking (for debit card) and savings acct with me, in case I need to make any transactions other than deposits. We opted out of ordering checks. The savings part is just for backup if he overdraws on the checking acct. He can also transfer funds as needed between savings and checking on line. I get to watch it all from my home computer and know when he needs me to deposit money in his acct.
His savings stays untouched at another bank.</p>