The BEST bank account for a US citizen in the UK.

no it's not.
if you have the correct 'table A & table B' documentation that the bank asks for, you can open a student account regardless of whether you are an international or home student.

I just checked Barclays, and they definitely restrict their student account to undergrads who have 3 years' residence in the UK. 

http://www.personal.barclays.co.uk/BRC1/jsp/brccontrol?task=popup1group&value=4668&target=_blank&site=pfs

Haven't checked all the others recently, but as a Student Adviser, that's usually what we find.

After getting a second letter (and almost getting that one rejected because it wasn't good enough), I opened a regular bank account with NatWest.



Thanks for the great advice!