<p>I'm an incoming sophomore transfer student, and it looks like I'm currently signed up for the The Liberty Meal Plan. A friend of mine at Penn told me that upperclassmen usually don't stick to the school's meal plans, but rather buy meals form "vendors." </p>
<p>What do you guys suggest I doing:
1) Stick with Liberty Meal Plan
2) Switch to another school plan
3) Go without a school meal plan</p>
<p>I'm a sophomore and will be living in apartment style housing, which means I'll have a kitchen in my room. </p>
<p>(Side note: anyone have any comments/suggestions about living in Stouffer house?)</p>
<p>liberty is way too much</p>
<p>go lower (even the franklin is not too small), or if you're going to cook all the time, a plan may not even be necessary</p>
<p>I don't think stouffer is apartment style. I think they just have community kitchens. If you are in Stouffer (like one of my friends last year as a sophomore) I'd say get the cheapest meal plan so you have a place to get a balanced meal a few times a week. Spend the rest of your money on food carts and going downtown.</p>
<p>The people in Stouffer seem to really like it. I think it has the largest retention rate.</p>
<p>stouffer-mayer has kitchens in the units</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips. </p>
<p>I'm in the Mayer Hall part of Stouffer House, and my room (1 BR Double/1 LR/1 Kitchen) does indeed have a kitchen (I checked the floorplan to be sure). I don't plan to cook, but definitely nice to have a sink/stove in the room. </p>
<p>Is it possible to round out a healthy-ish meal with the food carts? Trying to avoid the stock oily, fried, calorie-heavy, red meat-ish foods. </p>
<p>The cheapest meal plans (the rest are $1000+/semester) are:</p>
<p>1) Locust -$748/Semester: The Locust Plan comes with 37 meals in the Fall semester, 38 meals in the Spring semester and $350 Dining Dollar$ per semester.</p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>2) Franklin $666/semester: The Franklin Plan has 30 meals and $300 Dining Dollar$ per semester.</p>
<p>Should I go with 1), 2), or try my luck with vendors to maintain a balanced diet, lol?</p>
<p>If you're going for the healthiest option you are probably best off cooking for yourself while buying food from frogrow. The next best option is to get a meal plan. Personally, I'd go with the cheapest because you will get tired of the dining hall by the end of the semester and want to feel the least guilt by not finishing it.</p>
<p>Thanks Venkat! I guess I'll go with the cheapest plan and try my best to cook healthy with occasional junk eats.</p>
<p>DON'T GET A MEAL PLAN! If you care at all about being healthy, the dining halls are not the place to be. If you want your "balanced diet" to consist of pizza, ice cream, iceberg lettuce and the occasional overcooked vegetable, then perhaps the meal plan is a fine choice. But guess what- with the Franklin plan you will be paying over $12 per meal. You can get a much better meal for that money. Don't forget that there are plenty of cheap and healthy restaurants around campus- food carts are not your only option!</p>
<p>do you know if george foreman grills are allowed in the dorms? also, does anyone know of the kitchen facilities (if existent) in ware house in the quad? i want to be able to eat healthy, so I'm trying to consider all of my options meal-plan wise. is the dining hall food really unhealthy? i know that some schools offer organic foods in their dining hall; is that so at penn? if not, what measures does penn take to accomodate students desiring a more health conscious meal?</p>
<p>you're not allowed to have a grill in your room but people bring them anyway</p>
<p>there's a kitchen in speakman 1st floor, not sure about other areas of ware</p>
<p>there's a decent amount of organic food in the dining halls, but yeah - generally people don't complain about healthfulness so much as poor quality...</p>
<p>Does English House (KC) have common kitchens?</p>
<p>As the mother of a Penn grad, I would suggest that you purchase the cheapest meal plan and supplement with food carts, cooked food from convenience store, restaurants etc.
On many days, you won't feel like cooking, especially the clean up after cooking.I always used to nag my S about the lack of vegetables in his diet and I know he won't bother to include that in his home cooked meals but at least it is available in the cafeteria. Having a meal plan can supplement many foods and a more balanced diet in one venue.</p>
<p>Fisher has a kitchen, but generally the students don't get to use it, because they leave a huge mess and leave the oven on.</p>