<p>Hello all! I've been lurking here the past five weeks, and I have to say that this is a VERY good site to find information about anything college-related, and I've recommended it to other people. I recently decided to register and become part of the community instead of just being on the sidelines. Anyway, I do have a question that hopefully maybe somebody may be able to answer. After all my financial aid is applied to my account, I'm going to have a refund send directly to my bank account for books/supplies/personal expenses. I set up a Direct Deposit so the refund can go directly to my account, however, my bank isn't in the city my college is at. I decided to start a checking account so I could get an ATM card to use while I'm up there so I could obtain my funds, but I won't receive my card until two weeks from now, and by that point class will have already been going on a week. What should I do so I can get my refund to buy my books instead of waiting a week after class starts to buy my books/supplies?</p>
<p>Can you use the checking account? The checks usually come in before the ATM card.</p>
<p>Do you have a credit card? You could pay for the books on the credit card then pay it off as soon as you get the bill (so as not to incur any interest).</p>
<p>Have you checked when you will get the refund? My daughter also gets a refund of her excess financial aid after tuition and fees have been charged against it. But at her school the refund is not paid to her until the end of the billing period (the beginning of the next month - 2 weeks after class starts) so has to pay for quite a few things (rent, books) before the refund is in her hands. This probably varies from school to school.</p>
<p>No, I don't have a credit card, and I should be getting my refund within the next 2-3 days. Thanks about the checking account idea, I had not thought of that. I feel pretty dumb now.</p>