<p>I have two questions about apartment living.</p>
<li><p>Do the students who move into a nearby apartment typically choose an OSU meal plan? Is so, which one. If not, how do they pay for food on campus? Debit card?</p></li>
<li><p>Is a car needed when you move into an apartment? The apartment is about 2 miles away from campus. It has a bus that goes to and from the campus Monday through Saturday until 10pm, with frequency ranging from every 15 min. to every hour. Looks like the Columbus Bus System also has buses, even on Sunday (every hour from 10am to 6pm). Is using the buses typical, or is a car a necessity?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Any thoughts or experiences.</p>
<p>Using on campus bus or bikes are typical, car might be necessary if you dont know anyone with one.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Just a wild guess: I doubt it - doesn't sound cost effective for college food. Maybe if you're a horrible cook. You can pay for meals in all the same ways (cash or plastic), and keep money on your buckID as a sort of debit.</p></li>
<li><p>I doubt you'll need a car to get to and from campus, especially if there's a regular bus and you're close enough to bike or walk. That's personal preference, keeping in mind factors like parking, weather, schedule. Around Columbus, you can get around w/o a car to a point (like to the odd concert/event) but anything beyond that might warrant a car (like a not-close job that might not sync with regular bus hours.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>My son is going to be living off-campus and he is opting, as part of his mix of meal options, to purchase the "commuter plan" OSU dining plan. It is 40 meals/swipes per quarter...so that is 4 meals a week...if you're on campus for class and don't want to go back to your place, it is somewhat convenient.</p>
<p>We're going to see how this works for one quarter and then evaluate his needs again before winter quarter.</p>