<p>regarding texans comments about the 4-year colleges:</p>
<p>you don’t HAVE to be part of a four year college once the plan is implemented, it is just possible to be. All of the upperclass housing will remain. I think that you will have to pay a residential college fee no matter what (~1000?) because you are going to be considered still part of your residential college. But you do not HAVE to get a meal plan if you don’t want to. If you live in the actual residential college, you WILL HAVE to buy a meal plan, however it is my understanding that smaller meal plans will be offered (7 meals/week) for those who want to join a club as well.-- and the clubs will offer smaller mealplans to those members who want to remain living in a 4-year residential college. Thus, while it would still be more expensive to do both, it wouldnt be by that much. </p>
<p>The universiity is trying not to create a class divide-- and going independant would still be cheaper than either joining an eating club or getting a meal plan (they charge something like $15 per dinner). Rumor has it that the university is working with the clubs to offer more financial aid to the members (ivy already does so)</p>
<p>While a lot of people (the ex-usg president who was also my RA freshman year in particular) made a lot of the class divide that exists with the eating clubs, if you read his editorial in the prince it isnt totally honest. The university did screw up the eating club/meal plan situation for RA’s 2 years ago which made it super expensive to be an RA and also in an eating club, however that has since been corrected. I know plenty of people who are on financial aid (varying levels, from princeton paying everything to people who struggle paying full tuition) who are in the eating clubs, or are planning on joining. The difference between a meal plan and joining an eating club is at most $2500 a year, which is easily made over the summer or during the year. Also, if you graduate from princeton with $5000 in loans, its not the end of the world.</p>
<p>There is no way that the university could destroy the selective clubs, or even the healthy nonselective clubs (charter, terrace, colonial) Campus had been losing members for years, it was not a certain policy that put it under. Many clubs have gone out of business over the years</p>