miscellaneous stuffs

zuitar · 05-20-2009, 07:45 AM

which banks are located near campus? and which one is the best to open a checking account with?
for those with works studies: how does it work? do we have difficulties finding jobs on campus? how do they pay you , every week, 2 weeks, months, directly into your bank account or directly into loans at the financial department at school? how many hours do we have to work? can we choose?
is 18 hours of class too much to handle considering that i'll have WS and i'll join some clubs? Can we take classes on saturday? is the majority of students staying on campus on week-ends? and what do they do (especially when is cold and freezing outside)?

i have many more questions but for now thank you very much helping me with those..i'm a little lost in the process( first generation going to college+immigrant)

jamesnew · 05-20-2009, 11:10 PM

Lol that's a lot of questions, I can answer one, a friend was telling me she gets paid twice a month - every two weeks...

katytibbs · 05-25-2009, 07:52 AM

We noticed that the ATMs on campus were from Chevy Chase Bank, so that's where my son wants to open an account.

https://www.chevychasebank.com/home.html

I see that they will only open accounts for local residents, so I guess my son will have to wait until he gets an AU address to open one.

Nic89 · 05-29-2009, 10:10 AM

Hi, I will be a junior at AU in the fall. I have spent the last two years at a different school so my info is based on that but its generally the same for all schools.

If you are entitled to work study you go into offices you'd like to work in early in the fall and ask if they are hiring. You have to find the job, they won't do it for you but it's not difficult. You can set up your payment method however you like. Some students choose to get it in a check and then they cash it and keep the money. Others choose to have the check deposited into their accounts to pay for their tuition. You can work how many hours a week you'd like to an extent. If you qualify for 1,000 dollars a semester you can only work until you make that. You cant choose to work 30 hours a week and expect to make more than you are entitled to. (I hope this is what you meant, if not tell me and try to explain differently).

Your credit hours are a personal preference. My first semester my school only allowed me to take 14 and I loved it. It was nice to have more free time to spend meeting people, exploring the city, and settling in. In the following semesters I have always taken 18 credits and never felt too overwhelmed. I'm sure I could have taken 18 in my first semester and done fine, but I don't think schools recommend it. Consider your priorities, what kind of student you are etc. And remember you have 4 years to take your classes, it won't kill you to take a little less one semester.

As far as campus, like I said I have spent the last 2 years elsewhere so I can't speak specifically about American. At my school, it was mixed-some stayed,others went home. I always stayed because home was a few hours away and it never made sense, except for a few weekends. I made close friends who also stayed at school, because they were there and that made it easier to get close to them. I'm hoping for the same at American, I'm about 6 hours away so I will be staying most weekends.

I know how you feel, I am so confused with the whole transfer process so if I can do anything else to help let me know.

miriampc · 05-29-2009, 12:27 PM

Hi Zuitar! I was an RA at AU last year (I just graduated), and I was also a 1st-gen college student. I was sort of an international student also, although my family lives in the US I spend my last year of high school abroad.

The first thing I can tell you is that you will get most of your questions answered at the International Student Orientation. AU has a great International Student Support Services office, which you may have already talked to, and you can call their office at any time if you have questions. Especially if you have work study as an international student, there may be visa issues to get straightened out.

As to the bank account, most AU students get Chevy Chase. There's a bank on campus and lots of ATMs for Chevy Chase all over DC, it's one of the most popular banks.

As to work-study, there is a section of the AU Human Resources page that lists work-study jobs and tells you how to apply for them. There may not be listings for next semester yet, but check back every once in a while. AU also lets you do community service for work-study, they have a partnership with a tutoring program in DC to help schoolchildren. You generally get paid every two weeks. The amount of your work-study grant (listed on your financial aid page) is the amount of money you'll receive over the course of the semester. How many hours per week you work will depend on your grant amount and how much your job pays.

I, too, took 14 credits my first semester. It was good to have a little extra time to get involved in clubs, learn about DC, and get used to American culture again. I would discourage you from taking 18 credits in your first semester because culture shock can be very tiring! When I came back to the States I slept about 10 hours a day for the first month or two. Even if you've been to the US before, living here is very different than being a tourist (as I'm sure you know). My suggestion is to take it easier in the first semester, then later you can take more credits.

Finally, AU offers some Saturday classes, but not regular ones. Most are weekend seminars at an advanced level. So most of your classes will be Monday-Thursday or Tuesday-Friday, with Wednesday classes being once a week or additional lab periods for your other classes.

I know my answers are long, but I hope they help you out! Good luck at AU!

zuitar · 05-29-2009, 07:13 PM

all of you are really nice people! and thank you for your answers, you help me a lot. see you all at AU next fall!!

PShap91 · 05-29-2009, 09:25 PM

Talking about banks, are there many Bank of Americas around DC?

mini · 05-31-2009, 10:24 PM

Most students stay around on the weekends and according to my daughter, a rising sophomore, there was usually plenty of events and activities such as workshops, concerts, sports and of course homework. Some people also get weekend work study jobs.

There are also lots of DC events to take part in. And yes it will be colder than Florida.

au2011 · 06-01-2009, 10:55 AM

ya, there are BofA's all over the place. In face, there is one about half a mile up Mass. from campus. Also, there is a BofA within a block of many Metro stations. I use BofA and have had no problems in DC.

aeria · 06-01-2009, 11:10 AM

Score, that's my bank. :-) Half a mile, that's doable.

a2009 · 06-01-2009, 11:30 AM

how about Citibank?

au2011 · 06-01-2009, 12:16 PM

a2009,

I don't know as much about Citibank. But, I checked online (Citibank Locator) and there appears to be an ATM in the Tenleytown 7-Eleven and a branch in Friendship Heights, one metro stop away on the Redline. There is also Chevy Chase Bank which is very well represented in the area and a full branch on campus.