New Students Beware of Meal Plan!!

financiallylost
Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:14:27 +0000

Just a few more points to add:

Whether you are on OR off campus…use those charts in the dining hall! They’re there for a reason, so if you are over/under…you can plan accordingly about the next semester. (Mostly if you’re over…find a way to spend the flex for the current semester then downgrade the next!)

The OP’s problem is a bit rare, I think. There are MANY opportunities to find out how the meal plan works! I, personally, got at least 3 emails from Dining Services this semester, not including the last email. The last email (don’t know if they sent it out before this semester) explained everything as clear as possible…and clearly stated that you need to buy a qualifying meal plan (Minor, Major, Mega, or Premium) to use whatever flex rolled over. Not only that, I heard it at Orientation, I heard it at an information session, and I heard it at a day for accepted students in my college back in April. I don’t see why the OP and his friends didn’t know this.

Friends of mine who lived off campus had the Major meal plan (the default plan for freshman/students in dorms) and they were out of flex by Thanksgiving Break. I had the minor meal plan, and I think I might upgrade it for next semester. (I’m probably one of the scrawniest/smallest people you’ll meet because I don’t eat enough, so yeah, that’s saying something.) If you live off campus, the only reason you’ll have trouble with your meal plan is if you like to cook at your apartment, like McDonalds or Taco Bell (since those are the only kinds of foods that the dining hall doesn’t really come close to), or like to go to restaurants. Or if you’re just too lazy to go to campus to eat. Other than that, you still shouldn’t have problems if you plan accordingly.

Also, apparently over 9,000 off campus students at Tech continue to buy meal plans after they leave the dorms. They must be doing something right, so really, it’s far from a scam.