<p>CuttingEdge – thanks for the tip about it being cheaper to pay for breakfast/lunch at Market Central rather than use a dining pass. I hadn’t thought of that.</p>
<p>Just to make sure I understand…if you enter Market Central, I presume you have to swipe your Panther Card. Is there then an option to use either dining pass / dining dollars / Panther Funds? Or does it automatically use a dining pass if there is one on your card?</p>
<p>It doesn’t look like you get much extra value from buying dining dollars vs. using cash or Panther Funds; but dining dollars are forfeited if not used by the end of a semester.</p>
<p>Would a perfect scenario be: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Buy the minimum “Tier” allowed (for freshman it looks like Tier 3) </p></li>
<li><p>Within that Tier, select the plan with the number of Dining Passes = the number of dinners to be eaten at Market Central. </p></li>
<li><p>If you eat breakfast, lunch, or latenight at Market Central, pay with dining dollars not a dining pass.</p></li>
<li><p>Use dining dollars for the other on-campus eating options.</p></li>
<li><p>If you run out of dining dollars before the end of the semester, ask mom & dad for cash to get you through. If they want to make sure the student uses the money for food instead of partying or a shopping spree at the nearest mall, the wise mom & dad will send money in the form of Panther Funds. :p</p></li>
</ol>