<p>I wasn't sure if this is the right place to ask but it has to do with my financial aid so I figured why not.
I am just starting to get my financial aid money via checks.
I don't have a bank account, and I'm taking 14 credit hours so I dont want to work while I'm in school so the only way I'd be able to pay for the monthly fees is to use my financial aid money.
But I need to cash my checks.
If I opened a bank account, is there any special offers for students like me? Or do I have to either get a job or take it to a check cashing place? </p>
<p>Go to a bank, or credit union and open an account. It’s not hard to do. You will need some money to put into the account. Many banks and credit unions have special accounts for college students that have no fees, and free online banking. Once you have an account with to he bank, with money IN that account, they will cash your checks. Get your account in the town in which you are going to college. If possible, choose a bank that also has branches near your home.</p>
<p>Op, are there any ATMs in your school? Open the account with the bank that own them.</p>
<p>Once you have the account, see if the financial aid can use direct deposit instead of sending you checks. You’ll save a lot of time. Alternatively, use a bank that has a phone app that lets you deposit a check just by taking a picture of it. Maybe they all have that now. I know Wells Fargo does, and they have branches everywhere.</p>
<p>Your college or university may have branch offices of a bank or credit union right on campus. Start at that branch. They will be able to help you take care of this. If you have several options available, ask about their fee structures. Some have free checking for students, some don’t.</p>
<p>When I dropped my daughter at school, several of the banks and credit unions need the school had big signs promoting student accounts and offering $100 to open a new account. Shop around. Find a good deal. DO NOT opt into the overdraft coverage for ATMs or checking accounts. They will approve your ATM withdrawal or point of purchase amount, but you will be overdrawn and have to pay fees. DON’T DO IT. If you don’t have money in your account, don’t buy the Starbucks or don’t get ATM money. Pay as you go.</p>
<p>If you want to list the state that you reside in, I bet people on CC could come up with lots of options. My daughter went OOS to school and we wanted her to find a bank that was also in our state so that we could troubleshoot if we needed to. Turns out the bank that was in both states wouldn’t “co-mingle” the account, so she just opened a college account at the bank with the most ATM’s on campus, off-campus, and with lots of branches.</p>
<p>Some schools have affiliations with certain banks and they may provide some benefit. For instance, UMich has a credit union but there is another bank that offers a direct link of their account to the student ID.</p>