Parents of the Class of 2019

[PollyannaMom]

We'd like to get DS a credit card before he goes away to school - both for emergencies and to get him started building a credit history. (He had a summer job, but not enough to qualify on his own, so I'm assuming one of us would be cosigning.) If any of you have already done this, what's the best way to go about it?

 

[clutter]

We'd like to get DS a credit card before he goes away to school - both for emergencies and to get him started building a credit history. (He had a summer job, but not enough to qualify on his own, so I'm assuming one of us would be cosigning.) If any of you have already done this, what's the best way to go about it?

I added dd as an authorized user on my account. If I paid, she used them. If she paid, she used her debit card. Her junior year, she applied for a Discover card, and now that she's graduating, she's looking to switch to a Visa/MC. I've raised her well - she's looking at the best rewards before deciding! But she actually pays off her Discover as she spends, and her limit has increased steadily. She went with Discover because it had decent rewards, and a good program for students.

She recently pulled her credit report, and to our surprise, the accounts that she's an authorized signer on shows up. It's qualified that she's not the owner, but it shows up. But just having the one Discover card in her name, her score's in the 700s.

 

[bjscheel]

We have our girls as authorized users on one of our credit cards. They have to be 18 before getting their own card. My oldest applied for one that was specifically for students (Capital One?) and they turned her down for lack of credit history . So she applied for Discover It and got that one. It has cash back and she can also turn in her grades to get another $20/year. She may have gotten a mailing for that one inviting her to apply so I guess maybe watch for those in the mail- maybe they're more likely to accept if they've already solicited them. Anymore most places accept Discover- she came across one place that didn't but she still has our Visa too.

DD17 won't turn 18 until the first week of college but shortly after that we'll try to get her one too. She's already getting mail from the cc companies so we'll start checking into those, probably do the same as her sister with a Discover It.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We'd like to get DS a credit card before he goes away to school - both for emergencies and to get him started building a credit history. (He had a summer job, but not enough to qualify on his own, so I'm assuming one of us would be cosigning.) If any of you have already done this, what's the best way to go about it?

My DD just went to her main bank where she keeps her money and applied for one. She really didn't want one, but learned she had to get one to develop a credit history when she was unable to get a small car loan in her own name despite working. Because she had no credit history I think they gave her one with just a $100 limit or something like that. It is all in her own name. They told her no matter what, she has to pay it on time, and she does. She buys one tank of gas per billing cycle and pays it off right away. She does everything online so it's easy.

 

[Eureka]

We'd like to get DS a credit card before he goes away to school - both for emergencies and to get him started building a credit history. (He had a summer job, but not enough to qualify on his own, so I'm assuming one of us would be cosigning.) If any of you have already done this, what's the best way to go about it?

We are in the same boat. We want him to start building his own credit. I'll be watching for answers too.

 

[tink1970]

We'd like to get DS a credit card before he goes away to school - both for emergencies and to get him started building a credit history. (He had a summer job, but not enough to qualify on his own, so I'm assuming one of us would be cosigning.) If any of you have already done this, what's the best way to go about it?

DD has been an AU (authorized user) on my cards for years so she has several in her name but I'm responsible for paying them. As a result, her Transunion score is in the 800s and her Experian is in the high 700s.

This week, I'm planning on taking her to our credit union to open a checking account and adding a debit card. There, i'll ask them if she is eligible for one of their secured cards (cards with super low limits), if so, we'll forge ahead. If not, I'll wait for her to start school and have her obtain a Discover It student card as well as taking one of her AU cards with her. Eventually I'd like for her to have her own and just keep the AU cards that are the oldest/most beneficial.

 

[laughinplace199]

Our 19 year old and 17 year old are authorized users on one of our cards. DD19 is going to apply for her own credit card soon. DS won't be 18 until the end of June, so he'll have to wait a bit.

 

[soccerdad72]

We've been meaning to get to our bank to change our son's checking account to remove our names from it. When he opened it (around 16), we had to be co-owners of the account, but he's 18 now, so we need to change that, as he hasn't had the ability to do things like mobile banking because of the type of account. When we go do that, I figured I'd ask about a credit card. If nothing else, we figured we'd have him apply for a low credit limit card just to have one (and begin creating credit).

We just found out that his college is discontinuing their pre-orientation program that they used to offer, where they would have a 2-3 day program of various activities, like hiking and climbing, etc. He was looking forward to doing that (and meeting kids as well) and we were looking forward to getting him moved in a couple days earlier as well. Oh well, I guess we're moving in with the whole crowd.

 

[Eureka]

We've been meaning to get to our bank to change our son's checking account to remove our names from it. When he opened it (around 16), we had to be co-owners of the account, but he's 18 now, so we need to change that, as he hasn't had the ability to do things like mobile banking because of the type of account. When we go do that, I figured I'd ask about a credit card. If nothing else, we figured we'd have him apply for a low credit limit card just to have one (and begin creating credit).

We just found out that his college is discontinuing their pre-orientation program that they used to offer, where they would have a 2-3 day program of various activities, like hiking and climbing, etc. He was looking forward to doing that (and meeting kids as well) and we were looking forward to getting him moved in a couple days earlier as well. Oh well, I guess we're moving in with the whole crowd.

My son turned 18 in Dec. and we did close out his custodial savings account and he opened his own savings account. (He already had a checking account). But I kept my name on his checking and added my name to his savings. He’s still in charge of everything but if we ever need to transfer money to him, I need to be able to see the accounts to do it. At the time they did ask him if he wanted a credit card but we were not ready to do that quite yet. We figure we’ll get him his own this summer so he can start buying gas with it and pay it right off to start building his credit before he gets to school. He’ll be going less than an hour away, so all the banks will be the same.

 

[PollyannaMom]

We just found out that his college is discontinuing their pre-orientation program that they used to offer, where they would have a 2-3 day program of various activities, like hiking and climbing, etc. He was looking forward to doing that (and meeting kids as well) and we were looking forward to getting him moved in a couple days earlier as well. Oh well, I guess we're moving in with the whole crowd.

That's too bad! DS signed up for one of those as well, but orientation is in June, so no move-in advantage, just a fun way to meet some kids. He's hoping to find a roommate with similar interests that way.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Thanks, everyone, for the credit card tips!!

 

[mjkacmom]

My son turned 18 in Dec. and we did close out his custodial savings account and he opened his own savings account. (He already had a checking account). But I kept my name on his checking and added my name to his savings. He’s still in charge of everything but if we ever need to transfer money to him, I need to be able to see the accounts to do it. At the time they did ask him if he wanted a credit card but we were not ready to do that quite yet. We figure we’ll get him his own this summer so he can start buying gas with it and pay it right off to start building his credit before he gets to school. He’ll be going less than an hour away, so all the banks will be the same.

Five years ago, DH added his name to dd22’s checking account, but now with Venmo, we just use that. She managed to get a credit card on her own, but I think applied during an internship when she was making a decent wage. Ds21 applied while in school with just part time jobs and was denied (he also pays his rent). I’ll look into what to get for dd18, she will be getting a checking account as soon as she decides where she is going.

 

[bjscheel]

Last night DD addressed the last of the grad invites, completed five scholarship apps, got a roommate, and helped me make corn flake cookies! We felt so productive!

She was anxious about the roommate situation- she'd been talking with one for over a week but didn't want to be the one to make the request. I told her to send a message that she can select a room next Tuesday, so if the girl wants to be roommates, to let her know soon. Before long, she had a response and a request and accepted it. That's a relief to have done, now I hope they get along fine.

 

[design_mom]

It's interesting how each of the schools does their housing requests, isn't it?

I see people being able to choose your room. I don't think you were able to get that specific with either of the schools DS strongly considered.

For the one he ended up not choosing:
You could choose your roommate, the area of campus you wanted to be placed in, and the style of room you wanted (suite style quad, or traditional-bath-down-the-hall doubles). I'm not sure if you could indicate a residence hall preference or just the area of campus -- but I know you could not request a specific room/floor. (Unless maybe you had a disability or something that would require accommodation.) Your priority of getting what you wanted was based on when you confirmed your enrollment (earlier was better).

For the school he ended up choosing:
You can choose your roommate and an LLC (living-learning community). In fact, freshmen are required to choose an LLC -- a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5, in case they can't give everyone their first choice. The LLCs are about grouping kids with similar interests but my son hasn't really found any that are calling to him (if you choose a roommate, you both have to agree on your LLC preferences.) Other than that, they don't get any choice. Most of the rooms are traditional-style doubles, although there are a few singles/triples/quads that you can request. They move the LLCs around from year to year. They say they do it based on how many kids request each, to give as many people their first choice as possible. However, I think it's also to keep people from requesting a specific LLC based on its location. But he has no input about which area of campus, or which residence hall, he'll be placed... and most definitely not which room.

 

[soccerdad72]

As far as housing goes, from everything I've heard so far, my son will get an e-mail in May giving him a date/time slot when he will be able to go online and select his room. Supposedly, he will be able to choose the exact room that he will stay in next year. As an Early Decision student, he's supposed to get a reasonably early slot, but he's been talking with his future roommate to try to come up with a list of options. I told him he should have a prioritized list of possible rooms, as I would assume many of the ones that they would like to have will probably be taken by the time they choose.

 

[bjscheel]

DD is in an LLC so she knows the building and floor she has to be on. She mainly just wants to make sure she gets a double and not a quad suite. Perhaps a corner room if they're bigger or have an extra window. She has the earliest possible time slot, so surely it won't be a problem to snag a double.

 

[bigbabyblues]

DS can choose the exact room he wants, but incoming freshmen are the last to be able to pick, and then it goes by when you paid your housing deposit. His campus is small, and he knows what room type he wants, and there is only one building he does not want to be in. We'll see what is available when the time comes. I think his date is May 7.

 

[Eureka]

DS knows he'll be in one of two buildings (dorm) based on the living and learning community he's going to be in. When he did an accepted student visit, he toured a dorm and I know most, if not all of the freshman dorms are pretty much the same. He's looked at the agreements and filled out his housing preference survey (you know, smoker/nonsmoker, sleep hours, etc.) and knows what dining plan he wants, so things are progressing. He's also pretty much picked out his orientation date (two-day overnight, they have them scheduled throughout the summer) for mid-June.

 

[mom2grace]

D committed to WPI in Worcester, MA on Tuesday. We are very excited for her, it's the best fit of the schools she applied to, but it's 900 miles away! That's the only hesitation. I know as soon as she is there she won't be missing home. Most of her BFFs are going even further than she is, but in the opposite direction.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Prom was last weekend - DD is front, center (blue hair).