Capital One 360 Checking

The Capital One 360 Checking account is technically not a student checking account. However, it is ideal for college students because there are no monthly fees, no minimum balance requirements and no overdraft fee. On top of that, the account pays interest on the entire balance (no minimum requirement for earning interest).

You’ve no doubt seen its credit card commercials – “What’s in your wallet?” Capital One offers a full range of banking services designed to compete aggressively with the big brick-and-mortar banks. It also stands out among the dozens of Internet-only banks that have sprung up in the last decade.

It’s a great choice for college students because it has a network of more than 40,000 ATMs. Although there are not many physical locations, payday loans online Woodruff account holders have access to a very robust online platform for monitoring and managing their account. The system allows for money transfers to other individuals or businesses and there is no cost for online bill pay. Checks can be deposited using your sera for instant crediting. It is also one of the few online banks that allow for cash deposits through its ATMs.

Although there is no overdraft fee per se, if Capital One chooses to decline a check due to insufficient funds, you could be charged a $9 NSF fee.

There’s little not to like with the Capital One 360 Checking Account, and when you’re ready to link it to a savings account, there are several options available.

Chase College Checking

Overall, the Chase College Checking account may be a good choice if having a physical location is important to you. In terms of its requirements and fees, it rates about average. The good news is the $6 monthly fee is waived for up to five years while you are in college. Otherwise, the waiver requires a $5,000 minimum balance or a direct deposit made to the account each month.

With Chase you can expect to see a lot of physical locations and several ATMs in and around campus. But if you are ever stuck having to withdraw cash from a non-Chase ATM you’ll pay $2.50 for the privilege. You will also want to avoid overdrawing your account because you’ll be charged $34 for insufficient funds. If your account remains overdrawn for five or more consecutive business days, you’ll be hit with another $15 charge. Chase allows you to bring your account current by the end the day to avoid a charge and it will not charge a fee for any item that is $5 or less.

Generally, there is nothing spectacular about the Chase College Checking Account. It does provide you with full access to its suite of online and mobile banking tools. Its fees tend to be higher than average and there are no features that make it stand out. Chase is a solid overall bank, with fairly good coverage in campus towns. But, the only good reason you might consider Chase is if it’s the bank your parents use, so you can link accounts.

U.S. Bank Student Checking

U.S. Bank is one of the smaller national banks, with just over 3,000 branches and 5,300 ATMs. So, if you are choosing a bank based on its physical presence, you should check its availability in and around your campus and town. Beyond that, its fees are average to above average, although all you need to do to waive the low monthly fee of $2 is elect to receive electronic statements.

Although it has a relatively small ATM network, the bank will not charge you a fee on your first four non-U.S. Bank ATM transactions each statement cycle. After that, it will cost you $2.50 per transaction. At $36, its overdraft fee is much higher than the average and you’ll pay another $25 if your account is overdrawn for eight straight days.