Get that bank account NOW

Marian
Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:53:03 +0000

Marion–most schools, and I bet Cornell is one, have some kind of student account in which you can, online using credit card or echeck, deposit money into an account which is usable in dining halls, laundry, bookstores, etc. It can usually be set up on the spot, and then you or your D can deposit money as necessary. Then, she just uses her school ID to pay for books off this account.



You people are so smart.

And you’re right.

It’s called Cornellcard, as Garland said, and my daughter has signed up for it. However, it’s set up like a credit card, not an account-you-put-money-in card, and it has an $850 limit. Unfortunately, we already used up a substantial amount of that limit paying for the service that ships packages to incoming students’ dorm rooms before move-in. Cornellcard is the only type of payment that service accepts. Because I have a bad leg and can’t help much with move-in, we shipped as much of my daughter’s stuff as possible to make life easier on move-in day. (The boxes already left last week.) There may not be enough money left in the Cornellcard account to pay for her books, and as far as I know, there’s no way to pay off the Cornellcard until the monthly bill arrives.

So we will be inquiring as to whether the bookstore accepts starter checks, and if they don’t, my daughter is going to have to hide a wad of cash somewhere for a few days until she has her course schedule and can buy her books.



I agree with Garland. echecks, ATMs are what most students I know seem to be using. S has not used his checkbook since last year.



My son, who is at a different college, uses ATMs occasionally and his debit card constantly (he lives off-campus, so he uses it to pay for groceries, among other things). He also doesn’t seem to know what a check is. I think my daughter will pick up her brother’s habits as soon as the bank (M & T bank, in case anyone cares) gets around to forking over the debit card. What startled me is that she couldn’t get the debit card right away. When my son opened his student checking account (at a DC area bank called Chevy Chase Bank – the one that the football field at UMCP is named after), he walked out of the bank with debit card in hand on the day he opened the account. I had no idea that other banks were slower with this.