<p>re debit cards – fyi – atm cards are generally issued as debit cards. we were once told that even a plain atm card (ie without mastercard or visa logo) could be used as a debit card at a vendor. </p>
<p>also as to whether someone would need the pin to use a lost or stolen debit card-- debit cards can generally be used to make debit or credit card type transactions (at least the ones with mastercard or visa logo) – ie even though they are debit, someone can “sign” instead of pin and use it just like a credit card.</p>
<p>Textbook costs vary greatly. I spent $800 freshman year, but nearly $1500 this past semester alone. I avoid the bookstore, but I do buy new (at some discount). I use my own earnings to pay for textbooks, though, so I’m allowed to make that decision. It would probably be reasonable to assume $500-700 new per semester, but it could vary drastically.</p>
A Checking Account (Joint with me) so that I can transfer money online.
A saving account (Joint with me) for checking overload.
A joint saving account both DW and I had with her since her elementary grade. That was the reason she had enough good credit for 4.
An unsecured CC.</p>
<p>I deposit a fix amount from my checking to her checking and monitor (I still fill it when ever I feel like) but trying to be regular with once a month transfer.
We pay for all college expenses along with all food, books, travel and weekend outings.
What ever she gets thru summer jobs, UROP, or other works goes into her savings. This she uses for sorority dues, gifts, dresses, concerts etc.
She uses her CC to pay for most of the things and then pay CC once a month. This keeps increasing her good credit.
She is a healthy spender and I’m trying hard to teach her to be either frugal or hope for a real good job once the college is over.</p>
<p>We bank with Bank of America and DD got an unsecured card with them after having established a joint saving account with us.
We are very pleased with their overall offering.</p>
<p>If you trust your kids not to abuse the cards, the easiest way is to open a joint account and get a joint credit card at the bank that has ATM on campus. It will assure enough credit to make payments for books, etc. easy, and will make transferring money on line effortless. We did this with all 3 kids, and it worked great.</p>
<p>I don’t know how common this is, but my daughter’s school had an option where the students can “bursar” to pay for things on campus like books and meals. It is added to their student account and the parents get billed each month. Most schools also allow the option to put money into an account linked to the student’s ID card. They can swipe to pay for meals not covered by the meal plan, and sometimes at nearby restaurants.</p>
<p>Happy B of A customers here. Since both accounts are B of A, transferring money online is a snap and free. Student got a B of A student account, including $700 credit card, without our having to cosign (admittedly, before new regs came out). Book costs have varied between 300-700 dollars a quarter.</p>
<p>We live in CA, students have gone to college in MA and NH. B of A ATMs conveniently located near both college campuses.</p>
<p>As I said…our kids have B of A accounts that were opened as students. I will say…their customer service is AWFUL…just awful. We had an issue of credit card fraud. DD is out of the country and I hold Power of Attorney. It took HOURS (and I’m not joking) plus conversations with 8 different people who answered the phone to get this resolved. You may also notice that your local B of A branch does NOT list its phone number in the book…you get the 800 number that is God knows where. Just beware that when things are going well…things are fine with them. When things are NOT going well, B of A is a PITA to deal with in my opinion. </p>
<p>That being said…I believe their accessibility for kids and families in multiple locations is a plus.</p>
<p>My daughter buys many of her books on Amazon. As a student, she gets a free Amazon prime account (learned about that from CC!). If you want to pay for their books, set up your credit card on Amazon for them to use.</p>
<p>She does have a debit card linked to her checking account. Unfortunately, she did charge more than she had in the account and was charged a huge amount of overdraft fees (she could have been the poster child for the new legislation). It was very very painful for her, but she learned her lesson. I don’t think any amount of our lecturing would have taught her as well as this mistake did. </p>
<p>For expenses that we pay, like food (she is off meal plan), she uses one of our credit cards. She’s never abused it, and we trust her to use it appropriately.</p>
<p>There are secured credit cards. You need to make a deposit of say $600 and they will give your child a credit limit of $500 and help develop a credit rating. Some of these cards have expensive application fees and annual fees but it varies from bank to bank and your bank may give you a break based on your relationship. My bank branch manager explained to me that it always better that student has the credit card in their name rather than as the secondary in my name, that it is important that the credit rating be built in the name of the student. He says that it takes about 2 years before card companies start recognizing that the student is managing credit well and then things will change. He told me that if my son kept paying his bills on time he could request that the secured deposit be dropped after a year but it was possible that it could be after 2 years. </p>
<p>Once you have a credit rating, the next step is easier but in this economy building a credit rating is a catch 22 situation. You need a credit card to build up a credit rating but you cannot get a credit card if you do not have a positive credit rating.</p>
<p>If you help your kids to build credit history ( by getting them credit cards, which today, I think, would entail co-signing), you will do them a big favor…</p>
<p>Wow, $1500 is a big book bill. Of our few semesters so far, I think $800 was the record book bill. But some of those 1st semester engineering books were reused 2nd semester.</p>
<p>Many colleges now have systems that allow student to estimate book costs ahead of time (using new book cost, so the total will be less if decent used books available).</p>
<p>I’d recommend helping build your kids’ credit history by cosigning on a credit card with them. Assuming you have good to excellent credit, you could get a larger amount of credit than needed. Credit card issuers are almost always willing to lower a credit limit if you request them to do so. As far as financial logistics go, 99% of what I buy on and off campus can be purchased with a credit card which I pay off electronically each month. I keep a limited amount of cash, but rarely use it. </p>
<p>Because I rarely use cash, the credit union or bank’s location is less important. Grocery stores will give cash back and free ATM’s and shared branches are quite easy to find since my credit unions are part of the CO-OP Network [CO-OP</a> Financial Services](<a href=“http://www.co-opfs.org/public/locators/index.cfm]CO-OP”>http://www.co-opfs.org/public/locators/index.cfm) . I do have an account at the credit union on campus, but don’t know why I do since the rates and terms are not as good as what I can get OOS. At my school, the banks are slightly less convenient and generally offer even less attractive rates and terms.</p>
<p>As for ordering checks, they are not necessary for most things, provided they are even accepted. Things that may require checks such as rent on an off campus apartment can be paid via online banking.</p>
<p>In short, choose the financial institution that offers the lowest fees, highest interest rates on checking and savings accounts, and lowest rates on loans. The interest rates on credit cards are irrelevant if you pay off the balance each month. If your kids get jobs, have their paychecks electronically deposited. Many financial institutions give benefits to those with direct deposits and you could probably have their paychecks directly deposited onto their credit card accounts if you so desired.</p>
<p>In my experience, most humanities classes have multiple books (4 seems like a common number) in the $10-$30 range. Science classes tend to have a single book in the $75-$300 range. If you use a search engine like bookfinder4u.com or dealoz.com, it can sometimes knock off a large chunk (as much as 80%) of the cost listed in the school bookstore. I’ve also used the school library’s copy of the book in some cases.</p>
<p>As a math major, the listed price per quarter has been about $300. The final cost has typically been more like $100. The highest listed price for a quarter has been $650. For a semester student taking an extra class or two I could see $500 being typical.</p>
<p>Also happy B of A customer here. As for debit card liability, it is not an issue, as some feared above, at least at B of A. This, from their web site:</p>
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<p>So, our daughter has her checking account with a debit card at B of A (convenient at school and at home), and she also has a CC with her name on it, from our account. We monitor both accounts and give her some spending money. It has gotten to be less each year, as she has been able to earn more of her own money each year.</p>
<p>I am always scratching my head as to why so many people are concerned with college student’s credit history. What large ticket items would they be possibly buying right out of school that they would need a long credit history? </p>
<p>D1 will be renting an apartment when she graduates, and I assume she would be showing her landlord a letter of employment to prove her ability to pay. Even now as a senior, she is getting a flurry of credit card applications in mail. In our case, we pay for her books and food, whether she charges it on her credit card or on ours, we would still pay for it. As far as her own incidentals, she pays for them with her debit card. I don’t think banks even issue ATM cards any more. </p>
<p>I think if your kid wants his/her own credit card, great, but I don’t see it as a necessity. With D1 only having a debit card in college has trained her to only spend what she has.</p>
<p>D1 is our first child, so if anyone whose child has been denied for credit (car, apartment) due to lack of credit in college, I would like to hear about it. I maybe missing something.</p>
<p>The very worst that might happen with something like the first car loan…the graduate MIGHT need a cosigner. That is NOT a big deal. Re: apartments…usually if you have verification of employment, first/last months rent and a deposit, you will not have an issue. </p>
<p>I agree with Oldfort. If our kids had not been able to get credit cards in college, life would not have ended for them. </p>
<p>I have, however, had difficulty using my own debit card for certain things…places where a credit card only would suffice. I think that is changing now, however.</p>
<p>Yes. you can still get a plain old ATM card…if you are willing to pay EXTRA to have that instead of a debit card.</p>
<p>Older s bought a car (he was really tired of driving my old minivan) 6 mos after he graduated. He had a good job with good income and had a good credit history, so had no porblem getting a loan. The funny thing-- one of the things that is on his credit history because he had a cared inhis name from a credit card of mine showed good credit dating back to when he was 2 yrs old!! LOL Needless to say they realized that was really my history and not his, but it showed up on his credit report :)</p>