<p>any current students know what the best bank and cell phone service are at columbia?</p>
<p>Best Bank -- Are you just looking for a basic checking/savings account? If so, Citibank and Chase are probably your best bets in NYC, since each has ATMs all over the place. Citibank is slightly more convenient, since there's a branch in Lerner Hall. The commercial banks generally run promotions where students can get no-fee checking accounts, so look for one of those promotions.</p>
<p>Cell phone -- IMO, Verizon is clearly the most stable cell phone service in NYC. My info on using cell phones in the Columbia dorms isn't that recent, but whenever I'm up at Columbia, Verizon works quite well.</p>
<p>citibank is more convenient around campus but chase is more convenient in general since it has an ATM in every duane reade now and more branches around the city.</p>
<p>cell phone, definately verizon, it works EVERYWHERE but of course its the most expensive so you can pretty much find a pretty decent middle ground with either cingular or tmobile when it comes to price and service...personally i had tmobile freshman and sophomore yrs and now i have cingular and they give u the best bang for ur buck though verizon certainly gives u the best bang period.</p>