[R Smoov]

Well I'm just a typical college freshman. Doing stupid things while learning better things at the same time.

Through my first year I used to have this one bank called PNC, but I realized that after time it did not seem really good for me. I hate the fact that I can only use it in certain regions. (Northeast regions)

Theres also was a time when I had went into overdraft with PNC. And the thing that pissed me off was that even though I paid back the money for the overdraft fee and such, they kept charging me!

Any recommendations as to what bank I should sign up for? And possible tips for making the best out of my account?

[hoops330]

I use PNC too and I hate it but have never bothered switching. I think it is really going to depend on region. I have heard good things about Huntington and Chase...

[joehoya]

If you are a student, check and see if your university has a credit union for students. credit unions tend to be better about fees.

Also, you may want to consider getting another bank account at one of the more popular online banks. I chose Ally Bank and have been very happy with it. No monthly fees, interest on my checking accounts and no domestic ATM fees for ANY ATM. For paper checks, I either deposit them by scanning them and digitally sending a scanned check to the bank, or I just deposit the check in my local bank and do an ACH transfer (free of charge) from my local account to Ally.

Another thing. I signed up for Ally back when Bank of America was planning on charging a fee for debit card use. They had also started charging me a monthly maintenance fee on my checking account. When I told them I wanted to switch banks all of a sudden they became much more helpful and put me into an account with no fees.

I am also going to set up a Charles Schwab checking account, as well. The biggest benefit the the Schwab account is they don't charge fees even for INTERNATIONAL ATM withdrawals. Since the bulk of the money I spend when traveling is via ATM withdrawals (I almost never charge things to my credit card) this could be a big money saver.

[Drazen]

I use HSBC but I think they charge international fees on their own ATM, I think only if you have the premier status they don't (minimum $100k balance). blah! Also have 2 BofA checking accounts, they are good in the US since BofA is everywhere.

[HiFlo]

student credit unions are the way to go.

big MNC banks rape you while profiting billion$$$.