<p>My son received two small local scholarships and the checks were made payable to him. We also need to cash in some savings bonds that he has. He only has a savings account but not checking because there's never been a need and it's a hassle with minimum bal requirements etc. Can we either put the money in or transfer to our account so that we can then write a check and/or pay online to the College for him? Or does he really need to get a checking account? I'm just not sure about the money trail and if that's important for future financial aid filing/documents etc. or am I worrying about this unnecessarily. We don't get any grants or anything, just loans but will have another in college in two years so picture could change.</p>
<p>He should get a checking account and a debit card. If he is doing work study in college, they will want to pay him direct deposit. If he is not working , you can put money in the account so that he can learn to manage his own money,</p>
<p>Find out if there are banks near where he goes to school. Bank of America has a student advantage account, where there are no fees for students. </p>
<p>You can also look at him getting a student account where you back at or a linked account to your account so in the event an emergency happens to can give him money in an instant.</p>
<p>Many credit unions offer free checking accounts, with a membership fee of just $25 or so. You can often also get a “debit/check” card linked to the account. Students need to order books at school, etc, and having such a card linked to the checking account makes life a lot easier.</p>
<p>another idea (assuming you can afford it) … “loan” your son the minimum balance requirement for the time he is in school … then he will be have “free” checking … however you’ll lose the interest on something like $100-$250 (which is essentially 0% these days anyways)</p>
<p>Check to see what bank(s) have ATMs on campus or close by. Then open a student checking account which should have no monthly fee. Get starter checks only and a debit card.</p>
<p>If the school has a known bank name, he can access his accts at a home bank and at school, though my S did almost everything online, with an ATM and his debit card. Then you can add money if needed.</p>
<p>Check to see if the college has their own credit union if they do use it and get him a debit card. S1 has exactly that and when needed he can stop by the bank and have payments for college expenses taken right out of his account and they have an atm right on campus.</p>
<p>Just FYI, PNC Bank has a free checking account. No minimum balance, no minimum transaction requirements. Open with $25 IIRC. It’s also pretty widely available depending on where you’re at.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for all your replies. I really appreciate all the ideas. There are many good ones to pursue and just makes me realize that he will absolutely need a checking acct & debit card. Thanks again.</p>