e_man1157

As much as I am a connoisseur for fine foods, I'm trying to save money. Going to school in a city has manyyyy temptations and i don't have that much extra spending money. Plus, adding to the temption, i've heard that john jay dining hall food isn't spectacular...or in other words...it's just bad.

So my questions are...how is the food for first years? how much money do you actually spend on going out to restaurants per week?

and

Which is the best meal plan for first years? I've been hearing that the one with the most dining dollars is the best, but i was wondering how much will one dining dollar get you (i.e. how much is one dining dollar worth?)? And what's the difference between dining dollars, flex points, and columbia points? Thankss.

karot

One dining dollar is supposed to equal one real dollar. How much are meals if you just buy them with cash?

Skraylor

i asked this question last year and never got a good response so here's a quick breakdown:

firstly, you dont get dining dollars, you get first year points. 2 different things (points arent refillable, dd are)

there are a few main places that accept points on campus, in no particular order:
JJ's Place: fried food and extremely overpriced groceries (think 10$ for bread and milk). good food tho. smoothies for 5$ (some people love them, some hate them). cheeseburger, chicken parm, grilled chicken sandwich, philly cheese steak: 5$, chicken fingers: 6$. fries/mozerella sticks: 2$. also drinks, ice cream, etc at regular NY prices

212: sandwiches that range from 5-6.50$.

ferris booth: sandwiches(5-6$), pizza(~2/slice), calzones(5), pasta(5), sushi(2-9), salads(3, small), etc...

carelton: sandwiches(~5), also a little buffet thing where price is based on weight, dunno price for this tho

any of the blue java's: coffee(2-4$), bagels/muffins/pastries(~1-3)

cafe east: bubble tea(3-5$), fried eel/dumplings[really good](~5-6$)

think that about covers it...

Skraylor

to answer the other questions: a meal at JJ is 12 or 13$ i think.

points/dd/flex: points are only available to first years and you can only use them on food in certain locations like the ones listed above (i think the only place that doesnt accept points is is uris tho i could be wrong) dining dollars are the same, except reloadable and available to everyone. flex can be used for anything. you can use flex in the bookstore, buying from vending machines, doing laundry, or buying food.

also, jj food isnt that bad. it has on days and off days. most people order chinese or get pizza or something if they really think the food on a certain day is bad

Denzera

also, dining dollars and first-year points are paid for at the rate of $1 = 1 point, but you don't pay sales tax with points. so it's like saving 8.25%.

karot

So which plan do you think is the best?

Denzera

either the one with the most points, or the second one down (2nd most points, 2nd least meals). The dining hall is only open for two "meals" a day, so you'll find yourself needing points a lot. But the more meals you get, the better the $/meal price is, so if you expect to eat at the dining hall a lot, you'll get more value for your money. Brunch is excellent and if you have a routine you can go there almost every day for it, but students definitely get bored with the dinner offerings by 2nd semester.

You can also switch meal plans between semesters for, I believe, no fee (and for a nominal fee during the course of the semester).

Skraylor

seconded on the meal plan.

if you get the lowest meals/most points it works out to like 1 meal/day and like 5 points/day.

unfortunately, this is actually nearly impossible to do (see my brief listing of prices above) basically it means you'll have to supplement the meal plan with ramen/meals out/etc.

e_man1157

how much do you guys usually spend a week (money not in the meal plan) to go out, to go to restaurants, or order in food?

pearfire

"if you get the lowest meals/most points it works out to like 1 meal/day and like 5 points/day."

Can I get another meal for 5 points?

ChickenSoup88

I've heard to stay away from the meals, and get Plan 4 (least meals, most points). These are JJ's hours: Monday - Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m, which could be a problem if you've got class during that time, or you're the kind of person who eats dinner at 9.

5 points a day seems a little low considering prices, but instead of adding more points my parents are planning to give me the same amount in cash for food at the supermarket. A loaf of bread and some deli can make lunch for a week, and it's a lot cheaper. Morton Williams has bagels for ~$0.55.

pearfire

What about meal plan 1? Does it work out to be 2 meals a day?

Skraylor

assume 15 weeks of school at 7 days = 105 days x 2meals = 210 are there 210 meals in the first plan? if so, that answers your question.

no....a meal is ~12 dollars to buy like i said...i dont even know if you can spend points to get a meal tho...thats a good question...if you can tho, it would be 12 points, not 5.

this all depends on you. i really dont know what to tell you. personally i tend to eat out once-twice a week and even then its usually at cheap places (less than 10$ for my meal). other people eat out 5-10 times a week and go to 20$/plate places...

the best thing i can say is that the dining hall food isnt as bad as people make it out to be. it just a step below yale (maybe 2 below cornell) and is miles above state schools and such.

karot

Almost. It's 13.1 meals/week.

Oh, here are the meal plans:

210 meals 150 Points
185 meals 300 Points
150 meals 400 points
115 meals 500 points.

Now Denz, what was the other plan besides the bottom one?

pearfire

I'm gonna work out a schedule which will allow me to go for meal plan 1. I'm probably just gonna eat in JJ dining hall all the time.