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Replies to: College Meal Plans - When does it make sense to buy the "Maximum" plan?
So the student who takes the 19 meal plan instead of the 9 meal plan gets about 160 extra meals per semester in exchange for losing $100 of extra food money? Seems like very odd pricing if the 9 and 19 meal plans are the same price.
Other daughter had two choices as a freshman - the all access cafeteria or the M-F all access cafeteria with $500 on a card as dining dollars. The second year she got $1700 on the dining dollars card and then had a certain amount deducted if she ate in the cafeteria.The dining dollars worked in the deli, the pizza place, and the little grocery store. Even with generously treating other friends to meals and toilet paper from the store, she still couldn't go through all the money on the card by the end of the year.
Her boyfriend had a M-F lunch program when he lived off campus as an upper classman. He made out. Lunch was from 10:30-3 so he'd ofter each 2-3 meals per day there, a late breakfast, lunch or an early dinner (as long as you were in by 3, you could camp out there.
UT Austin now has Unlimited meal plan for dorms. Ugh Ugh. You do have a certain amount of Dining Dollars to use at other places on campus but the prices are always twice as much and there is No Rollover of money anymore. They also give a smaller amount for off-campus food. If you want to switch that Unlimited meal plan to be more flexible on Campus - now they want you to pay $1000 for that privilege. I think I laughed and said No. I'd rather give them the cash if they need it to be used however they want. This is all to drive students to move off-campus after first year.
In most cases buy the smallest plan possible and none if it is offered. Both larger stare schools here do not require s meal plan. Instead most people I know just deposit $150 weekly into students bank account for food. If they want to go to cafeteria, they simply buy a pass that is $11 for a dinner.
Most students spend their money with greater care and have money for pizza/movies/beer/Chinese.
After freshman year my oldest lived in a fraternity house and bought the fraternity meal plan which was MUCH MUCH less expensive than the CWRU meal plan. His senior year he lived in the apartments and we gave him money to shop/cook at home. Son did not like the dining hall food.
My middle son had 5 meals his sophomore year because he had to have a meal plan. We gave him money to shop/cook his other meals. He ate lunch on campus. After that he moved off campus and we gave him money to shop/cook.
My youngest had a full meal plan his first two years at Haverford. Next year he will be overseas in the fall and in the apartments in the spring. He wants to shop/cook for himself. He says dining hall isn't bad but much to expensive.
What I have found w/ youngest is there isn't much price difference between the lower plans, 9,12, 14. School also had unlimited, but I knew she would never use it; dining options weren't as good at her school. So we went w/ the 14 her freshman year. However, she had so many "swipes" left at the end of the year, she is now on the lowest just because it annoyed me so much! Not much cheaper than the 14, but at least they will be used.