How much should a parent fund bank account?

madbean
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:26:40 +0000

The basic food plan supplies 10 meals per week, but any unused meals roll over and they do not expire until the end of the semester. One meal is considered to be one-time entrance to the dining hall (but it’s an all you can eat buffet once inside). If a kid wants to go in for breakfast (they have waffles, omelets, cereal, fruit, and lots more) it costs 1 meal, same as if they go for lunch or dinner. But, if they intend to eat something quick in their room (bagel, sweetroll, fruit) and skip a big breakfast, they don’t have to use 1 meal credit. In other words, 10 meals isn’t enough to cover 21 meals/week, so the kids must supplement. In addition, they get about $500 (you can look up the exact amount) in Trojan dollars assigned to their USCard which they can use tfor purchases in the campus coffee shop and fast food. I’ve read on these boards that this is a popular plan–however, some folks say they never use all the Trojan bucks–and those also expire at the end of the semester–prompting some kids to stock up on cases of bottled water at the deadline.

However, there is another plan (called Quick-something) that costs about the same amount and gives unlimited meals, but no Trojan dollars. For a student who must eat 3 (or more) full meals every single day including Sat and Sun and who absolutely LOVES that dining hall food and never needs a change, this sounds ideal. But guessing which works best for your student might require a little thinking about how they plan to live on campus.

Good news. Students can change their meal plan up to 3 weeks into the semester, so if one plan isn’t looking so hot after a week, make sure to sign up for another.