<p>I am flying to Pennsylvania in two weeks for my FTCAP. Do my parents need to be there? It is rather expensive.</p>
<p>No. They split the students up from their parents for most of the day and there are separate sessions for the parents. It was somewhat informative for the parents, but not worth spending the airfare. You might be able to get a copy of any brochures or folders that they give the parents. Also, I think most of the info can be found on PSU’s website.</p>
<p>My mind is fuzzy - but wasn’t there a separate handbook for the parents? If so - you might want to try to pick one up from the Admissions people. I think it covered more parent-oriented concerns and questions.</p>
<p>If you are under 18 and plan on using your ID card as a debit card you might want to open a PNC account with your parent before you go to FTCAP. Unless you already have a PNC account. They recommend PNC because all of the ATMs on campus are PNC ATMs. At FTCAP they will merge your info with your Penn State ID card and then you only have to carry that, instead of your ID card and a debit card.</p>
<p>Your parents should save the air fare. Everything they could possibly want to know is published in the “Parents and Families Guide” which you can find on line.</p>
<p>There are recent articles bashing the banks and colleges that give you “free” bank cards. They say to be wary of fees on unsuspecting students. Overdrawing your account or not using your account can trigger fees. You can put money on your ID card without a PNC account. I utilize a bank that refunds any fees that the PNC ATM would charge. Research it. Don’t just sign up for the PNC account for convenience. It may be good for many people, but it’s a good first lesson in reading the fine print.</p>
<p>The nice thing about PNC is that they link your accounts so that if you overdraw your checking, they pull from your savings without a fee since it’s a student account. The only negative for some might be that you can only write 3, I think, checks a month without a fee. But since it’s a student account and you can use your card as a Visa debit card with no fees, that shouldn’t be a problem for most kids. I can’t see my D writing any checks for quite a while. The PNC account worked better for my D than her current bank account.</p>