Pay day is one of my favorite days at college. Several thoughts of food, clothing and other necessities is what first comes to mind. A college student's wallet is usually pretty tight so getting the most for your money is important when it comes to meals and clothing.
But getting the most out of your money also depends on who you trust watch your money. Although some might prefer to stuff their mattress full of cash, the need for sound banking practices is a reality in today's world.
Anyone asking the question, "Where should I go for banking?" need do no more than conduct a simple Internet search. Smartpages.com, the online branch of the Yellow Pages, showed 50 banks within just two miles of the University, and literally hundreds more in the surrounding area.
Amid this plethora of banking options, how is a simple college student to decide where to bank? Hopkins props up M&T, and even sports its own M&T location across from the book store in Gilman, but is this option the best way to go?
Options, as I suggested earlier, are easy to find. Virtually any bank will have a Web site filled with phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
Most important is for you to know what it is you want out of your bank. What do you expect your balance to be? Do you want an account for checking or saving? How much will you be using your account?
At it's most basic, the decision between a checking and a savings account is: relatively how much will you be spending money out of the account? If the answer was "a lot," then you want a checking account. If it was "not much," then you want savings.
Next you face the choice between types of accounts. All checking accounts balance various factors. The big ones are interest rate, maintenance fees and balance requirement.
For you, any interest rate on a checking account is good, maintenance fees are bad, and you want the balance requirement to be low. For the bank, the opposite is true. So, thanks to the market system, and those hundreds of options I mentioned earlier, we consumers tend to get some pretty good options.
Most students will probably be looking for an account option with a low, or no, balance requirement. Usually, if you drop below the minimum balance for your account, the bank will slam you with fees until your account is at zero.
So, which option in the area is best for you? Here's a summary of a few local banks and their offerings. Keep in mind that if this is not exactly what you're looking for, there are many more options only a phone call or mouse click away.
Bank of America (410-366-5252) offers it's "Campus Edge" plan, targeted at Hopkins students. This plan includes a 25 dollar minimum balance (a pretty competitive figure), free access at Bank of America ATMs, no maintenance fees for five years, a free debit card and free online banking. A drawback is the need $2 charge for using non-bank of America ATMs. Bank of America also offers free online banking.
Provident offers several checking plans, however their interest bearing checking accounts have minimum balances to avoid fees ranging from 300 to over 2,000 dollars. Their "Free Checking" plan, however, is very student friendly, with no minimum balance, free access to Provident ATMs and a $1.50 charge at non-Provident machines, a free debit card and no monthly fees. Free online banking is also available.
Susquehanna Bank offers a similar "Free Checking" plan targeting students, with no minimum balance and which bears no interest. It does require a $25 minimum initial investment, though it offers no monthly fees, and even throws in a free checkbook. Like the other options, they provide you with a free check card with free service at Susquehanna ATMs.
How do these compare to the Hopkins-propped M&T? M&T offers a few plans, but if you are a student at Hopkins, the "M&T Totally Free Checking" is really the only one of concern to you.
This plan requires no minimum balance, but it does require a minimum $25 initial deposit. It also offers free access at M&T ATMs, no monthly or annual maintenance fees, a free debit card, and free Web banking. There is a $1.75 charge for using non M&T ATMs.
Neither M&T nor Bank of America had any sort of use requirement, by which you are penalized for using your account too little or too much, but that is another restriction to watch out for in other banks.
How did they shape up? M&T is a pretty sound choice. Plus, as far as convenience goes, a location in the basement of Gilman can't be beat. They also have several ATMs on and around the Hopkins campus.
People who do not live in the mid-Atlantic region should be ready to utilize their online banking, because M&T only operates in Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Wondering how the other options fared? Well, after several tries getting through to SunTrust, I gave up. Though I must say, their automated assistance was very user friendly, complete with an expected wait time (which was always rather high).
I don't know how user friendly Wachovia was. When I found out that their 10-10 number had a $3.95 surcharge associated with it, I moved on to the next choice. Do I really need to start racking up charges before I even have an account?
Also, bring your J-Card when you open your account. Presumably, any bank offering a special plan for Hopkins students will require proof of your enrollment.
Finally, here are a few notes on banking in general. Checks, upon deposit, can take anywhere from less than one to five days to clear. Be careful about spending money you just deposited if your balance cannot otherwise accommodate the spending.
The Internet era has brought privacy issues to the forefront of our minds, yet most people have no idea how much of your personal information banks are freely able to give away. You have some protections against this under the Financial Modernization Act of 1999 (also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act). Generally, these protections are "opt-out" requirements, so ask your bank for details on how to protect yourself, if you so desire.
You need to find the bank, and the plan, that is right for you. Most of the banks discussed offer very similar plans for students. Even if you're planning on using this checking account outside the academic year, online banking could cover your needs. And remember, the more you understand about your banking situation the easier it will be to manage you money and the easier it will be to spend it.
