What is your student's ACTUAL meal plan?

[swimmermom3]

There is significant disparity between meal plans among the schools that ds has been accepted to so far.

 

I feel so out of touch in trying to sift through the programs.  Costs range from $3500 to $6,000 per year. Only one school offers 3 meals per day.  Some programs look a bit similar to our local high school where the student just charges their account for what they use, but that can quickly get out of hand.  Some programs look like they encourage a significant amount of dining out with meal dollars allotted to local restaurants. One school has a food service whose food I wouldn't let my dog eat (if I had a dog) and others offer local, organic, made from scratch meals.

 

Meals aren't a deciding factor, but they are definitely part of the picture for us.

 

How do your current students REALLY eat on campus?  What do they love and what do they loathe?

[Artichoke]

Ds , who got free meal plans, chose the nineteen meals per week his freshman and sophomore years. Then he chose a lesser plan that included dining dollars his last two years so he could eat more meals with his friends who didn't have meal plans.

 

Forgot the price:

 

$4400 per year. The food was good, and all you could eat. I do remember ds not using all of his meals but buying some cereal instead since he hated going to the cafe every morning for breakfast.

If we had had to pay, we'd have only gotten the full plan his first year.

Edited February 25, 2016 by Artichoke

[snowbeltmom]

Lisa,

Does your son have to get a meal plan?  My son chose a dorm that has a kitchen and does not require a meal plan, but still lets him eat in the dining halls whenever he wants.  This approach has worked out much cheaper than it would have been for him to be on a meal plan.  

 

I bought him a mini-fridge for his room.  He eats Cheerios for breakfast every day in his room, which also cuts down on the food costs.

[Jenny in Florida]

My son's college has two dining halls and multiple smaller, specialty options at which students can use their dining plan. The main dining hall offers "unlimited seconds," meaning once a student swipes his card and enters the facility, he can eat as much as he wants on that one "meal." However, at all of the other outlets, one swipe = one meal of a predetermined size.

 

Last year, my son had the "carte blanche" plan, which allowed him unlimited trips to the main dining hall but very few flexible "dollars" to use at any of the other outlets. It was fine, but he began to get kind of bored by the end of the second semester. He's a vegan, and he often finds the veg-friendly offerings in the main dining hall limited to pasta with marinara, salad with lettuce and not much else, fresh fruit and some kind of fried potato product. Those happen to be some of his favorite things to eat, but he found he had to spend cash off campus to get a protein fix now and then or just to alleviate boredom. Not that he's usually awake in time to worry about breakfast, but he found there was almost never anything for him to eat when he did feel peckish in the mornings.

 

So, this year, he opted for the 15-meals-a-week plan. It's a little less expensive than the unlimited version ($4,660 per year) and includes a few more flex dollars. 

 

He keeps a stash of food -- both healthy and not -- in his room with which to supplement, and we give him occasional gift cards for off-campus restaurants that allow him to broaden his horizons. (Why, oh why does his campus not have a falafel counter?) We bought him a mini-fridge when he first moved on campus, and I try to send him back from his weekends at home with at least a few meals he can't easily get on campus or nearby. 

 

He is very much hoping to get placed in the apartment-style dorms next year, because he would then have access to a kitchen. If that happens, we'll cut the meal plan back to seven swipes a week, just so he can grab things when he's too busy to shop/cook and/or eat in the dining hall with friends sometimes, and increase the amount we give him weekly so he can shop and cook for himself.

[Gwen in VA]

My dd is living in an apartment-style dorm and she has no minimum meal plan. Last fall we signed her up for 14 meals per week so she would have an opportunity to hang out in the cafeteria and meet people. (She is a transfer student and we wanted to help her make connections.)

 

She says the food is dreadful, and she spent most of the fall threatening to completely drop the meal plan in the spring, but when push came to shove she decided to continue on the 14 meals per week for socialization reasons -- she loves eating with people in the dining hall!

 

Unfortunately the school doesn't have a meal plan with less than 14 meals on it. Next year she will hopefully be living off-campus, so we are going to encourage her just to pay the per-meal price for lunches and the occasional dinner. The social aspect of meals should not be overlooked!

 

(Dd has some dietary/medical issues, so she frequently just has a "nasty" salad at the dining hall and then supplements with healthy protein at her apartment.)

[Granny_Weatherwax]

DS's plan is all you can eat from the main dining hall.  He also has flex dollars which can be used at a few on campus specialty cafes.

He loves the quality and variety.  The gluten free menu is extensive and I have enjoyed dining with DS.

It is rather expensive but it's required for freshmen.  

I think he has greater flexibility next year.

 

ETA:  $6000 per year for unlimited dining plus flex dollars.  There are plans as inexpensive as $400 per semester. This one is 2 meals per week and is designed for students who live off campus and cook for themselves..

Edited February 26, 2016 by ScoutermominIL

[NCMom]

I could write a whole lot about the saga of college food procurement, lol.

 

This is at a state school.

 

Freshman Year - is required to get either the 19 meal per week or Unlimited Plan/125 Flex dollars per semester. She gets the Unlimited. Cafeteria only opens at noon on the weekends I think?? DD enjoys breakfast and lunch, hates! dinners. Eats breakfast twice on weightlifting days. Other on campus options limited do to renovations. She loathes every one of the on campus eateries though she is not a picky eater.  Apparently McAlister's??, for example, is yucky AND overpriced. Athletes have to come back early/leave late for several breaks. Caf is closed and she is out of flex dollars and coach has family emergency so leaves them to their own devices. Nearly starves during these times. Discovers football and/or basketball players go to grocery store every day (sometimes 2x per day), so survives. Figures out bus routes and spends a LOT of time 2nd semester at another college nearby eating at their Chipotle, lol.

 

This year - 14 meals a week and $325 Flex dollars per semester. Breakfast is now a sad affair because they no longer make eggs two ways, only one way.  :glare:   Even more renovations actually turn out to bring in a couple good restaurants to campus. Finds a Farmer's Market within walking distance, though she has no way to actually cook any food. People working at Chipotle know her by name/major/sport... 

 

Next year... Already has apartment and roommates. Will still have to get a commuter plan with 50 meals total? I think. Is getting an Instant Pot and can now get to Whole Foods. Is really good at freezer cooking too. Chipotle profits may go down...

 

Edited to add - The price is nearly the same for the Unlimited and the 14 meal per week/more Flex dollars plans. IF she liked the dinners on campus she would have just done the Unlimited plan again. Cooking/ordering food is a giant time suck for her.  But eating weird crap is not good either and she loses weight way too easily if she doesn't eat right.  The Commuter plan will be less than 1/2 the cost of those two but should be adequate for days when she just can't cook.

Georgia

 

 

Edited February 26, 2016 by Georgia in NC

[creekland]

I honestly couldn't tell you what, exactly, my boys have.  They choose themselves what they want.  

 

Freshman year we've always gotten them unlimited so we didn't have to worry that they were cutting back too much in an effort to save $$ or worrying about when they'd run out.

 

I can say that youngest had opted for a "lesser" plan this year and shortly after second semester began he asked if he could increase it to unlimited.  Of course we said yes.  I just paid that difference.  It was $337 - not much for a semester IMO.

 

I also know middle son prefers more declining dollars (usable in many places) over all you can eat meals from the dining hall.  The declining is usable at the dining hall if he wants to eat there.  This year he chose all declining, but I don't recall how much that cost.

 

We've eaten in the cafeterias of all three colleges my boys attend/attended.  They're all perfectly fine with decent options IMO - and that of my guys.  Covenant had the least options, but that makes sense.  It's the smallest of the three.  Oldest did say he'd sometimes get tired of the lack of variety they had, but he never claimed it was awful - just repetitive.

 

But then again, mine aren't picky eaters for either health needs or nutrition reasons.  Both of the younger two choose to eat healthier many times and that's never been an issue.

[Janice in NJ]

DS's plan: $2535 for the semester. 14 meals/wk with $215 of flex.

 

Janice

 

[J-rap]

My dd has the 5 meals/week plan.  She lives in an apt. on campus that has a kitchen.  She loves being able to just have coffee and peanut butter toast in her apt. for breakfast, and then soup or sandwich or salad which she makes in her kitchen for lunch.  She and her three roommates eat dinner together in the cafeteria every evening M-F.  That works out perfectly for her.  Her meal plan also includes 400 flex points.  I can't remember how many you need for a meal, but it allows her to get a hot sandwich, a bagel, espresso, smoothies, and things like that at various places on campus on top of her meal plan.  She's very happy with this arrangement.  It's about $4000/year.

 

 

[clementine]

Our dd's college has 2 meal plans available.  Unlimited dining (for anyone) plus some flex dollars to be used at on-campus restaurants/stores - $1500/semester.  Upperclassmen (by credit) can opt for a meal plan with a set number of meals plus flex dollars - ranges from $700-1300 per semester.  

 

Dd's favorite meal is breakfast - made to order omelets and breakfast potatoes are her favorites.  She did say that as the year has progressed, the dinner meals have gotten less appetizing.  Not sure if she's just getting sick of the food choices or if there has been an actual decline in taste.  

 

I'm not sure which plan she'll choose next year, but I appreciate the unlimited option - when classes run through the regular lunch hours, she would have only had about 15 min to scarf down something.  

[katilac]

dd doesn't start till fall, but I will give her info for context. 

 

All the plans are right at $3,000 per year. 

 

There are no unlimited plans. She will get the standard one, 19 meals per week plus $125 dining dollars which can be used at all of the fast food/coffee shops on campus.  

 

We will put more money into the dining dollars in case she needs it. She could just use her credit card, but I think she will be more likely to use the dining dollars that are already 'bought' and designated for that purpose, and they do carry over to the spring semester. 

 

The other plans are same price, fewer meals with more dining dollars - so 14 meals with $224 dollars, and so on. 

 

The suites have a common area with fridge, microwave, and table, so she will also be able to have some simple foods there - soup, granola bars, sandwiches, and we'll bring her real food in containers when we visit. The meal plan works out to about $5 per meal, so it's pretty reasonable even is she just uses it for a drink and snack sometimes.

 

Dining options were high on her list when checking out colleges, lol. Cafeteria food is never something to write home about, but a few were pretty bad. She wanted decent food, a variety, good options for salad and veggies, and workable operating hours. 

[Mabelen]

My daughter got a 12 meal plan with flexible dollars. She knew she would not get 3 meals (usually no breakfast) ever and she lived in a suite style dorm which had a common kitchen for 9 students so they did some cooking or went out at weekends. I don't remember the cost. She is now in an off campus apartment next to campus with easy access to stores and restaurants so she either cooks, gets take out or eats out.

 

ETA She was happy with her choice. My nephew started out with an unlimited plan and always ended with too much left over at the end of the cycle which he promptly would give to student athletes. His parents switched him to a lower plan and he was fine.

Edited February 27, 2016 by Mabelen

[AngieW in Texas]

My dd has the 14 meals/week plan. This is the 2nd biggest plan the school offers.

 

19 meals/week = $2030.87/semester and includes $50 in meal money to use in on-campus eateries along with 2 guest passes

14 meals/week = $1801.12/semester and includes $100 in meal money and 2 guest passes

10 meals/week = $1711.30/semester and includes  $150 in meal money and 2 guest passes

 

She eats 12-14 meals/week in the cafeteria. It's worth paying the extra $90/semester for those additional meals.

My dd doesn't really care much for any of the on-campus meal options aside from the dining hall. She only goes to places other than the dining hall when she can't get to the dining hall before it closes.

The dining hall is all-you-can-eat while you are there.

 

She doesn't like any breakfast foods, so she eats lunch and dinner only. 

 

There is a mini fridge in her room and she and her roommates go out to Sprouts every weekend to get supplies for the room.

 

She has been on the meal plan all three years she has been at school. She prefers being in the dorm over being in an apartment and doesn't like trying to cook in the kitchen at the dorm.

Edited February 27, 2016 by AngieW in Texas

[Pawz4me]

This is DS's second year in a private-but-affiliated-with-the-university dorm that has its own dining hall.  We chose it when he was a freshman because (1) it's much closer to the main part of the campus and the main street in town than the on campus freshman dorms, (2) it had a reputation for having great food that is much better than the on campus dining halls (which has turned out to be true) and I3) it doesn't seem to cost much more at all than an on campus dorm and comparable meal plan would.

 

Now having said all that -- we've never really figured out how much the meal plan actually costs because they lump it all together.  There are a variety of room styles and meal plans to choose from, but they're priced together.

 

DS has 200 swipes per semester.  A swipe is each time he enters the dining hall, whether he stays for hours and has an all-he-can-eat-feast or is in there for thirty seconds to grab a cup of coffee.

 

We started out with 120 swipes because we had the option to upgrade at any time but not to down grade.  We had no idea at that time how many meals he would eat in the dorm dining hall, how many in restaurants in town and how many on campus.  We had no idea what his university life would look like!  But we did end up upgrading his meal plan to 200 swipes about midway through his first semester of freshman year when it became clear that 120 wasn't going to be quite enough to last him through the semester.  The 200 swipes seems about right, especially this year when he's eating in the dining hall more.  Last year he tended to get more things from off campus restaurants (mostly to satisfy his Chipotle cravings ;)), but this year he's eating more in the dining hall.  He also has a microfridge in his dorm room.  He keeps his room stocked with water, peanut butter and crackers and easy snacks like that.

[Laura Corin]

Calvin just loads up a card and buys what he wants from the subsidised canteen.

[Luckymama]

E's university has a choice of Unlimited, 12 weekly, and 155 semester block plans, all with choices of extra points that can be used one-for-one-dollar at the convenience-type stores, coffee places, and grill/sandwich/salad/pizza/burger places in the student centers.

 

Prices range from $2330 to $2660 per semester.

 

E has the 155 block plus some points. She tends to use points for coffee in the middle of the day. She has food allergies and intolerances and keeps some foods in her dorm (has a micro and fridge but no kitchen access in this year's dorm).

 

Unlimited is new this year. We would have chosen that for ds, definitely.

[katilac]

 My nephew started out with an unlimited plan and always ended with too much left over at the end of the cycle which he promptly would give to student athletes. 

 

This is another thing to check out - at dd's school, you can only use one swipe per meal period, so you can't buy lunch for friends. 

 

You could let them use it for the supper period if you were not using it, but you can't go at 5 and let them use it at 6. 

[Mabelen]

This is another thing to check out - at dd's school, you can only use one swipe per meal period, so you can't buy lunch for friends.

 

You could let them use it for the supper period if you were not using it, but you can't go at 5 and let them use it at 6.

Yes. I don't know the details of how his meal plan worked. I just know that despite my nephew being a big guy with a big appetite who exercised and played quiditch, it was too much. There were always football players happy for a free meal.

[elegantlion]

Another consideration is WHERE on campus food is located. We obviously don't need a meal plan as commuter students, but I feel for some of the students that do. We have a all-you-can-cafeteria and then FLEX money which can be spend at the other food options on campus, one is like a small convenience store, the other is Einstein's Bagels, and another serves hot food daily. For a kid with a meal plan only, they'd still be spending money on food if they didn't have time to run to the cafeteria for lunch. 

 

The cafeteria and the Subway are located near the dorms and our campus is not huge, but a lot of students don't have time to go there for lunch if they only have 10-40 minutes between classes. Einstein's is expensive, well they all are. The one that serves hot food is in the building where I spend most of my time and the hot meals are sold by weight. I've seen some people spend $10 on one meal. 

 

Ds almost refuses to eat on campus because of the prices and will sometimes splurge on a bagel. 

 

We have no other options within walking distance, but bus service is free, so students could go to the grocery fairly easily even without a car. We also have a food bank on campus where ANY student can go twice a month. It's mostly stuff you'd need to cook, but occasionally they have stuff that would be good in a dorm. (on a side note: What is it about food banks that make people donate their green beans. Last time I was in there they had about 150 cans of green beans)  :lol:

[City Mouse]

My DD is at a small state university with limited food options. There is only one place to eat, unlike the large university that I attended that had about 8 different facilities on the meal plan.

Anyway, her plan is about $1600 a semester and is an unlined plan anytime the cafeteria is open. 7:00an to 6:00pm M-F and 10-5 on weekends and holidays. Since she lives in the dorm that is the required meal plan.my DD is a very picky eater, but she is at ho ego. In general, the food is fine, and thee are lots of options, but DD sticks with French fries, pizza, and grilled cheese most of the time.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Several of the schools we looked at had a required meal plan for freshman during first semester.  Sometimes during that semester or at the beginning of the second semester you could change your meal plan to one of a multitude of options they had. They required the beginning plan to help the student understand how they ate so they could choose later. 

 

Meal plans/options weren't top of the list for DD.  She figures that with a kitchen in the dorm and a microwave/fridge in the room she can easily supplement.  (its amazing what you can order from amazon and other online services these days)

Edited February 29, 2016 by JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst

[ThisIsTheDay]

Such a great topic. 

 

Dd's single struggle during her freshman year was "getting food."  She was in a two person dorm room with a mini fridge and a mandatory ~$4K meal plan.  I'm not trying to be dramatic, but while some had difficulties with classes, leaving home, time management, etc., her problem was having to think about and actually going out to get food at least once or twice a day.  She's an introvert; food is not a social thing, and for her, it seemed like a never-ending burden. 

 

For her sophomore year, we decided it was a much better option to pay $3000 more for an apt.-style dorm with a full kitchen, which meant she didn't need a mandatory meal plan.  She doesn't have a car, and grocery shopping is not simple.  Instead, I prepare food for her at home, freeze it, and take it to her every 2-3 weeks. Our routine includes grocery shopping to stock up on fresh food and food she can prepare simply, going out to lunch, and bringing home an extra take out meal.  It's work for me, plus her school is several hours away.

 

Cooking every meal from scratch isn't really possible for her, mostly because of a lack of fridge space for ingredients. With me cooking food at home, she has several servings of healthy food that is easy for her to reheat, she has options right there, and dh and I don't have to worry about the effects of not eating (because she would definitely eat much less). 

 

It's pretty much turned into our love language.  I know she greatly appreciates the time and effort I've put into this for the long term.

 

Ds will be going away to school in the fall. He won't have the food search issues that she had; instead, we've been talking about GOOD food choices, balance, and nutrition. I expect he'll be on a meal plan only for the first year (again, about $4K), and then do whatever he needs to do to be able to choose his own food. He's a great cook, and he'll be much closer to home, and the options for him will just be very different, mostly because of the location he's choosing, with affordable off campus housing.

[katilac]

My DD is at a small state university with limited food options. There is only one place to eat, unlike the large university that I attended that had about 8 different facilities on the meal plan.

Anyway, her plan is about $1600 a semester and is an unlined plan anytime the cafeteria is open. 7:00an to 6:00pm M-F and 10-5 on weekends and holidays.  

 

Wow, those kids have to eat a mighty early supper! 

[Mom22ns]

So my kids and their schools have the opposite meal plans available that I would wish.

 

Ds has a 120 meal plan (per semester) with some extra bucks to spend at the snack shop. If I could have, I would have happily bought him a 3 meal a day plan and he would have eaten every meal in the main cafeteria happily. The max his campus offers is 180 meals but this comes with $340 worth of snack shop bucks and he doesn't like the snack shop and those are just throw away. Instead he eats a lot of meal bars for breakfast, and has taken to not eating on campus on the weekends. 

 

Dd's cheapest available meal plan is 3 meals/day. You can get fewer meals and add bucks that can be spent at a variety of on campus food vendors, but there is no savings. You pay the amount of the 3 meal/day plan + the number of bucks. Not a penny discount for those meals that come off. So she'll just be getting the 3 meal/day plan and I'll put the equivalent amount of cash into her checking account to spend at the on-campus restaurants. This is really sad because she is a vegetarian and their veggie options in the cafeteria aren't impressive and she would probably prefer to eat elsewhere much of the time. 

 

So for ds, the best buy would be the 3 meal/day plan, but it isn't available. For dd the best buy would probably be about half that and it isn't available either. When it comes to dining - I wish they could trade!

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Also-be sure to ask food service folks about accommodations.  Based on my experience as an undergrad and grad student as well as the tours dd took, schools have options for take out and bag/boxed meals.  The problem is that they often don't advertise these services very well.  Many also have unadvertised options to suit dietary needs.

[Loesje22000]

This thread is cultural enrichment to me.

I have never heard from a meal plan at college, so I would have never thought to ask about it.

[Mom22ns]

This thread is cultural enrichment to me.

I have never heard from a meal plan at college, so I would have never thought to ask about it.

 

In the US, you don't have to ask, you are told. Students living on campus are usually required to have a meal plan. It is an outrageously expensive set of meals designed to profit the university, but it does offer convenience. :)

[katilac]

In the US, you don't have to ask, you are told. Students living on campus are usually required to have a meal plan. It is an outrageously expensive set of meals designed to profit the university, but it does offer convenience. :)

 

The price can vary a lot - I actually don't think dd's is all that bad.

 

It works out to just at $5 per meal, which is tough to match. You can cook a meal for less than that, of course, and she will do some of that, but I definitely don't want to count on her having the time and energy to cook a lot of meals. 

 

If she does wind up cooking more, at that price I'm fine with her using some of the meal swipes just for a snack of fresh fruit or a small salad. 

[Mom22ns]

It works out to just at $5 per meal, which is tough to match. You can cook a meal for less than that, of course, and she will do some of that, but I definitely don't want to count on her having the time and energy to cook a lot of meals. 

 

Nope, that isn't bad at all. My kids plans come out between $9-10/meal. Not too bad for dinner, but pretty steep for breakfast and lunch. Our tuition costs are very reasonable here. I think they use meal plans to help make up for that.  :001_rolleyes:  I suppose it all evens out in the end.

[katilac]

Nope, that isn't bad at all. My kids plans come out between $9-10/meal. 

 

Wow, painful! 

[Kassia]

We pay $1850/semester for unlimited plus ds gets $100 in dining dollars.  I guess it's good for a big eater, but my son only goes to the dining hall once a day most days so it's very expensive per meal.  Sometimes he'll go twice, but never more than that.  When he's home, he's a big eater, but I don't think he wants to be bothered to go to the dining hall and would rather just not eat.  

 

Erica

[angela in ohio]

Dd's school has only one option: all-you-can-eat for $6300 per year. You are required to live on campus all four years and to have the meal plan. 

 

There is one dining hall and meals are served at normal meal times. She also has a handful of "guest swipes." They can also eat unlimited meals at the two colleges that they can cross enroll at.

 

Dd eats all her meals in the dining hall. I love that she has three square meals and they are eaten together as one big family.

Edited February 29, 2016 by angela in ohio

[Pawz4me]

In the US, you don't have to ask, you are told. Students living on campus are usually required to have a meal plan. It is an outrageously expensive set of meals designed to profit the university, but it does offer convenience. :)

 

Ummm . . .  you obviously haven't seen my DS eat.  ;)

 

Like I said earlier, we've never figured out exactly how much his meal plan costs since it's bundled with the room.  But based on how much our grocery bill has gone down, I feel certain we're getting a pretty good deal on the meal plan!

Edited March 1, 2016 by Pawz4me

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Ummm . . .  you obviously haven't seen my DS eat.  ;)

 

Like I said earlier, we've never figured out exactly how much his meal plan costs since it's bundled with the room.  But based on how much our grocery bill has gone down, I feel certain we're getting a pretty good deal on the meal plan!

LOL  I totally understand where you are coming from.  Our grocery bill has decreased significantly since DS left.  He loves pasta, cereal and bread and those gluten free items are expensive.  He can eat all the GF foods he wants at his school and he takes advantage of it. 

[Jenny in Florida]

Nope, that isn't bad at all. My kids plans come out between $9-10/meal. Not too bad for dinner, but pretty steep for breakfast and lunch.

 

Yep, once you take out the flex dollars, my son's plan works out to about $9 per meal. There are some days when he definitely gets his (our) money's worth, but others when it hurts to think about what we're spending.

[swimmermom3]

All of this information has been so helpful in allowing me to sort through the various plans.  It's not that a meal plan is a deal-breaker for choosing a school, but I do consider it important.  Both of Sailor Dude's older siblings have struggled with depression and self-care that includes good meals and plenty of sleep is critical. I guess my thought is that college is pretty darn expensive,  it has its own stressors for freshmen and bad food and lack of sleep don't help.

 

Ds's top choice school has a meal plan that seems to draw bitter complaints from the student body.  Freshmen are required to enroll in the $3700 a year plan that gives $1400 in X Dollars that are to be used in on-campus dining facilities. The remaining $2300 becomes Y Cash and is used at local merchants.  Meals on campus are charged by weight and all campus facilities close by 2 pm on Fridays, so Friday dinner and all of the weekend meals are obtained in restaurants unless the student does something with his microwave, I guess.  There really isn't much in the way of a dining hall and so the social aspect isn't really there unless you immediately have a group to go out to meals with.

 

I can see my slight and prone-to-missing meals son just decide the hassle isn't worth it.  The good news was that with his AP credits, he should be a sophomore the second semester and he then is able to change plans.

 

Poor meal plans feel like in part, setting a student up for failure.

Edited March 2, 2016 by swimmermom3

[TechWife]

DS goes to a regional university with two full dining halls and several smaller venues around campus (yogurt shop, coffee shop, deli, convenience stores, etc.). Everything is charged by item and he selects exactly what he wants to eat. Every food item he purchases on campus comes out of his meal plan, no matter where he purchases it (including vending machines). There are several meal plans to choose from, with the per semester cost as follows: 

 

Low Option $1015 with state sales tax added

Standard Option $1280 with state sales tax added

High Option $1485 with state sales tax added

Super Option $1810 with state sales tax added
 

Funds left at the end of fall semester transfer to the spring semester, but at the end of spring semester the account is cleared and any remaining funds are lost. If a student runs low on funds, they can add money to their account or chose to pay at check out, whichever they prefer. Freshmen are required to purchase the standard option. 

 

 

Edited March 4, 2016 by TechWife