<p>The NU site gives a lot of info…one thing though…what is considered “a meal?” </p>
<p>At some colleges meal cards are scanned as you enter the facility then students can eat all they want during that meal period while at other colleges the card is scanned after preparing a plate and that is considered a meal.</p>
<p>I can see both setups working at NU since there is so much variety in the type of facilities…</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>For the most part, a “meal” on a meal plan is a meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) eaten in one of the residential halls. They scan your card as you go in and you can get as much as you want of whatever is there. Meal plans can seem rather complicated, so I would just stay on the default 13-meal-a-week plan until you actually get up here, and then see where and how much you eat before you change your plan (to a block or a larger plan).</p>
<p>When i visited 2 years ago, I ate breakfast one morning with my brother. he lives in PARC, one of the residential colleges. The nearest dining hall is in Allison. We went to the door, slid his card, told the security guy who was standing at the door that i was his brother (this wasnt hard to convince him of, I look exactly what his twin would look like, two years younger) and if I could get in with him. He let me in, it was an open food court, all you can eat. I had a waffle that you make in one of those gizmos that all colleges have. It was good. I went back into the court and made another, and got some fruit.
I remember it all so clearly because I was impressed that you could take whatever you want and the workers seemed nice and friendly, unlike at my HS where they yell at you if you dont have correct change by the time you reach the counter.
Hope that answers your questions. Dining their seemed pretty good, I wouldnt worry.</p>
<p>…thanks…I figured the dining hall meals were all you can eat and that the smaller cafes would post meal equivalency values…</p>