<p>In terms of access, a banking relationship geared to students, etc…Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Whatever is closest to home and Brown.</p>
<p>FOr me, the only option was Bank of America, as it is for many students.</p>
<p>BoA is in Faunce and the Bookstore, Sovereign and Citizens are on Thayer.</p>
<p>I opened a BOA account at home because you guys on here said the atms were on campus. As it turned out I really needed a close branch and Sovereign was the way to go. They also gave me tons of coupons for free food and a folding chair that goes in a bag.</p>
<p>I went to the bank fair and asked BOA where the closest branch was and they said two blocks east. While driving around in my rental I accidentally found the closest BOA branch is NOT close to Brown - very inconvenient for what I need to do. That was obviously a flat out lie they were telling students to get new accounts. I mentioned that to the asst. branch manager at Sovereign and she said she heard them telling kids that all day long and couldn't believe it. </p>
<p>So, long story short, BOA is a POS. Sovereign is the closest bank and has atm's in every CVS store in town..maybe not in Faunce but right on Thayer. Citizens seems to be somewhere in between with the branch a couple blocks away. I'm not too sure about their atm's.</p>
<p>As far as student accounts I'm sure they all have them. I know Sov and BOA do.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what you're doing that requires a full on branch, but I can think of two branches within a 10min walk from campus for BOA.</p>
<p>I've never needed to use a branch on a regular basis...</p>
<p>Not that I'm pushing for BOA. If it weren't for Brown, I'd use Chase...</p>
<p>Son uses Sovereign and never had a problem and we can electronically transfer money to his acct from our home.</p>
<p>My daughter also went with Sovereign -- we wanted her to have a bank branch close to campus, and we did the due diligence ahead of time to know that BofA did not have that. In the Sovereign vs. Citizens decision (or Red vs. Green), she went with Sovereign to get the free chair. (Citizens has a nice feature where an email is sent to you if your account is getting low -- if it wasn't for the chair we might have gone with them.) While the Faunce House ATM was tempting, isn't that closed when Faunce closes? I guess we're old fashioned, but we like having the option of there being a branch very close to campus.</p>
<p>My daughter is going on her fourth year at Sovereign. We chose it when moving her in as a freshman. None of the banks in our region of Vermont have any branches in Providence and so it meant having to open a local bank account at college even though my D has an account at home. We deposit money in her local bank and she can write herself a check to her account at Sovereign. Sovereign has a convenient location on Thayer. All has gone well there. I do recall a free small rolling duffle when she signed up and she still uses it. :D</p>
<p>Sometimes a machine can't do everything for you, things must be signed, etc...</p>
<p>BOA may be a 10 minute walk if you are walking fast but I doubt that. Especially from Pembroke. BOA does also have atm's in the bookstore that may or may not be open all hours (not sure on that) </p>
<p>But anyone who knowingly lies to get new accounts is a POS in my opinion and needs no new business.</p>
<p>The ATM in the book store takes deposits and is full service.</p>
<p>The only thing I've had to sign since opening my account was the back of a check, everything else can be done online.</p>
<p>As for lying, once you hit the back of the OMAC, it's is about 2-3 blocks east to the Wayland Square BoA, so I agree it's deceptive, but not necessarily wrong. There is also a BoA branch in Kennedy Plaza at their headquarters.</p>
<p>Basically, all I'm saying is that needing a full on branch is so rare that to walk there is no big deal-- especially the Kennedy Plaza one because I walk past it any time I'm in the city.</p>
<p>Additionally, Faunce house is open 24/7 and I am pretty sure the bookstore ATM is as well, like most ATMs--with card access.</p>
<p>Yeah, from the back of the OMAC. But who lives there? Or even walks past the back of the OMAC? </p>
<p>Hmm, walk down and up a big hill to downtown and back...or walk to a bank you'd probably walk past anyway...big toss up on that one!</p>
<p>"The only thing I've had to sign since opening my account was the back of a check, everything else can be done online."</p>
<p>That may be true for you but not for me.</p>
<p>I mean, i guess it's personal, I just am wondering what else you'd need to physically go to the bank for?</p>
<p>And you've got it mixed up-- I walk past the one down the hill multiple times per week. Because I'm off meal plan, I happen to pass the other bank as well, but didn't in the past.</p>
<p>Not only that, but I doubt the BOA rep has knowledge of who lives where. Someone reports a number that's a distance to campus they don't do it to the center, or to a dorm, they do it to the nearest Brown owned building. Just look at any apartment listing... that's not always so honest feeling, but it's reality and not something ot be worked up about.</p>
<p>My daughter has had to go physically to her bank at college. We put her monthly checks for allowance and food (not on meal plan) or to reimburse her for books into her home bank account (which has no branches in RI) and she writes herself a check to deposit in her Sovereign account. I recall she went to the bank in May to wire money overseas for a summer apartment she was renting. I recall her going to the bank to get Euros. She has gone to a bank to get travelor's checks in the past. And so on.</p>
<p>Ah, I don't wire overseas often and my father works for the FAA at Kennedy International so we get better exchange at the airport. Add that to not being a user of Traveler's Checks...</p>
<p>Still, wiring overseas, exchanges of currency, etc, are rare enough that a 10minute walk is not that big a deal. Checks can certainly be deposited into ATMs without an issue, money can be moved from multiple accounts with the same bank online, heck, she could, these days, even wire the money direct from one account to the other online without fees.</p>
<p>Basically, I'm just saying I can't imagine a reason which requires a full on branch closer than 10mins walking for regular use, and since for most people BoA is the only bank that may have a branch at home, for most people it makes the most sense. If I didn't have BOA at home, I wouldn't consider it over the others for any real reason, but BOA is fairly ubiquitous, Sovereign and Citizens not so much.</p>
<p>I'm not referring to which bank to use or how far to walk to it. I was only answering your question of why anyone would have to go into the bank. </p>
<p>My D can't move money from one account to the other online as these are two different banks. Perhaps there is a way to wire it over as you are saying. I don't know. She certainly doesn't mind writing herself a check from her home account where we deposit money and putting it into her RI account. Also, she has debit cards she can use from either bank. But using the local (RI) debit card in a corresponding ATM means less fees. My other D has this same issue at college in NYC because none of our banks in our home region have branches in NYC either. So, she also has two different bank accounts like her sister at Brown. We can move our money from our home account online into their home account. They then write a check to themselves to put into their local banks at school to avoid ATM fees with their home debit card while at college.</p>
<p>I'm not quite following-- write a check from home bank, deposit in local bank at local bank ATM for nothing...</p>
<p>To sum this up: I live on campus, no car. I walk down Thayer every day. I don't walk by Kennedy or Wayland every day. </p>
<p>I'd rather not walk more than I do (which is a lot) because it's pretty hard on my feet (I was blessed with flat feet).</p>
<p>I do have BOA at home but I really do not like the people work there and MUCH rather prefer my bank at home. It helps that the VP of the bank is my grandpa's lady friend and she takes care of all my problems.</p>
<p>It's not a criticism, it has no effect on me. I'm just looking to understand a reason you'd need to have to regularly go to a branch.</p>
<p>I have additional reasons to the ones that have been posted but that's none of the internet's business.</p>
<p>Well, thanks guys. I think I am going to go with BofA just because it is everywhere and my parents can send me money from branches back home.</p>
<p>
[quote]
BoA is in Faunce and the Bookstore, Sovereign and Citizens are on Thayer.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>As some people have mentioned, if you want a branch rather than ATM, Citizens is not quite on Thayer but very close.</p>
<p>I have no experience with Sovereign; Citizens is reasonably friendly with student deals etc; BoA took over Fleet which was notorious for bad service and high fees. Fleet was a Providence-based national bank, so BoA in Providence is almost entirely built from Fleet. </p>
<p>Bank of America's ACSI (customer satisfaction survey) rating went down a couple of points as a result of acquiring Fleet, and has stayed down although BoA has invested in improving the bad reputation inherited from Fleet.</p>