What banks for checking account?

<p>We want to set up a checking account now for my son to have access to when he arrives at Dartmouth, since we will be too rushed on move-in day to take care of that in Hanover. He remembers seeing a Bank of America near the campus. Is that correct and are there other easily accessible banks?</p>

<p>Bank of America is right in "town" (2 blocks off campus). IF there is one in your area, he can actually open his account at home. </p>

<p>D has an account at Bank of America at school. Students can open the account with $25, there are no fees or minimum deposits for account because she has direct deposit for work study pay checks. She has free online banking with bill payment, She uses her visa check card (she does a lot of shopping on line and has never had a problem). in addition when she is home, there are plenty of BofA's here in the city.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.bankofamerica.com/studentbanking/index.cfm?template=stb_college_banking_kit%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bankofamerica.com/studentbanking/index.cfm?template=stb_college_banking_kit&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>If you are a Bank of America customer also, you can do transactions to his account right on line.</p>

<p>Banking In Hanover<br>
These banks were chosen because they are within walking distance of campus. This is not an exhaustive list. </p>

<p>Ledyard National Bank, 38 S. Main Street, Hanover, NH Phone: (603) 643-2244</p>

<p>Citizens Bank, 44 Main Street, Hanover, NH Phone: (603) 640-1150</p>

<p>Bank of America, 63 S. Main Street, Hanover, NH Phone: (800) 841-4000</p>

<p>Mascoma Savings Bank, 80 S. Main Street, Hanover, NH Phone: (603) 643-1537</p>

<p>parent thread on on-campus banking</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=86039&highlight=Bank+america%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=86039&highlight=Bank+america&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>My impression was that all the banks are reasonably accessible to campus.BofA has the advantage of being present in many other states, Ledyard has an ATM in the Collis Center. We don't have a bank in our state that operates in NH, so we went with Ledyard because of the ATM. BUT, this fall, her dorm may actually be closer to the ATM of another bank in town. Hanover is so small, accessibility is really only an issue in the cold or rain.</p>

<p>Here's another thought -- my son, although his account is with B of A, seldom visited the branch office or ATM. He has a B of A credit card that he uses for any purchases and then pays the balance each month online. He seldom needs cash and this has proven to be a simple way to handle finances.</p>

<p>Sjmom is right. You would be suprised at how little cash they actually carry and the few trips that they make to the bank. In fact my D rarely carries cash to the point when she is coming home, I have to remind her to take money out of the ATM. If they have work study, they can (and should) get direct deposit. Between debit cars/ credit cards, on line shopping, going physically to the bank rarely happens. My D does the same thing, purchases by debit/credit card that pays it off.</p>