<p>binghamton’s meal plan works differently than most other schools. you pay a given amount for the meal plan – from that they deduct a specific amount to cover their overhead. what’s left is the amount you have available to spend for the semester. since they’ve collected the “overhead” up front, they supposedly charge only their cost for anything you buy – so the food you put on your tray and actually pay for is pretty cheap. anyone not on the meal plan who eats in the dining hall pays a pretty high premium over the rates charged to those on the meal plan.</p>
<p>but overall, i guess how expensive you’ll think things are depends on whether you think they charge too much for the overhead. you just don’t feel it when you buy any individual item – you’re parents may feel it when they pay the semester bill. ;)</p>
<p>if you scroll down a little here – [Binghamton</a> University - Residential Life - Rates](<a href=“http://reslife.binghamton.edu/rates.html]Binghamton”>http://reslife.binghamton.edu/rates.html) – you’ll see the rates for the various meal plans and how much spending money each plan gives you. the only difference among the plans is the amount of spending money you end up with. but if you run out of money during the course of the semester, it is VERY easy to add money (no overhead taken out of additional money added). any money left over carries over to the next semester IF you are still on a meal plan.</p>