HOWDY
RANCH
What bank to choose?
Opening a bank account is probably the best solution to facilitate the deposit payment to Texas A&M, and for your daily expenses.
When I arrived, I wanted to open an account at Bank of America because I thought it was THE bank, and because my French bank BNP had a partnership with them: withdrawing at Bank of America was free.
But, to my surprise, you need at least $3,000 blocked each month on the account in order to be exempt from paying an international student fee, which may be a lot of monwy. Thinking that this was my best solution, and also given the fact that I did not have the chance to get this precious advice, I opened a bank account and paid the $12 monthly fee.
Two weeks after opening my account, by talking with other international students, I realized that I should have gone to Wells Fargo!
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Free account for International Students
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You can have $0 in your account, you can't have a negative balance, so their are no overage fees
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You will receive a debit card
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The bank is accessible by bus, or by foot, from campus (located in Northgate)
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You can manage your account online, or through their smartphone app, where you can make transfers for free.
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The icing on the cake: the bankers are really nice and are almost always available, and Friday is free cookie day !
For more information: there are other banks in Texas (Citi Bank, Bank of Texas) that offer advantageous plans for Internationals students, or Expats. Wells Fargo is a partner of Texas A&M and, in my opinion, the most convienent. But, don't hesitate to ask to your French bank about your possibilities.
Some banks prefer that you don't open an account because they prefer that you get cash with their French card.
My plan: withdraw freely where you can (for me it was at Bank of America) and then deposit the cash on your American account, Wells Fargo for example.