ask about the meal plans

Parents Forum
1

<p>For all of you parents taking your child on college visits, I'd like to suggest that you ask for specifics on how the meal plan works. My freshman son just called and told us he has only $200 left on his plan out of the $900 that was allotted for meals by the college. He has been at school since Aug 26th and has gone through $700 worth of meals. (He has not come home for any visits yet.) </p>

<p>We just assumed that room and board covered his room and 3 meals a day for the whole semester. Wrong! Every time he eats, the cost of his meal gets deducted from his account. He is not eating off campus that much (mostly on weekends), and when he does, he pays cash, although his school card is accepted for payment by many local establishments. He said most of the lunches are around $5-7 and the dinners are around $7-8. He stopped eating breakfast after a few weeks because he saw how fast his account is going down. He has been having cereal in his room in order to save money.</p>

<p>I'm annoyed with myself because I never thought to ask about it--and I'm annoyed that I have to pay more for meals. He is averaging close to $350 a month for food.(This doesn't include the amount he has spent off-campus.) I don't want him to worry about the cost of his meals, so I'll keep adding to his account, but this is an expense we hadn't considered. He is a hungry boy and an inexpensive salad won't cut it! If the college you are considering has this type of a meal plan, go into the campus dining facilities and check out the prices. I imagine we will have to pay another $500 a year or so for his meals. I hadn't thought to plan for it.</p>

<p>I have checked around with my friends with college kids, and the meal plans really vary. Most allot more than $900, though. I'm not saying we would not have chosen this college, but I would have factored in the extra cost for meals. FYI!</p>

2

<p>I sympathize but it's not a make or break item, is it? My daughter is on a meal plan (no choice at her school on type) and she always comes out with a credit balance of at least a couple of hundred dollars. Fortunately, they just roll it ahead to the next quarter and then take it all off at the end of the school year. This quarter she is student teaching and only has dinner on campus and has told us she'll have a big balance to carry over. Now, if her younger brother (who's about a foot taller) ends up going there we'll see if we can get that surplus into his account!</p>

3

<p>chocolate, I think your advice is very good that people should inquire about the mealplans. I'm curious, though, what other options your son's school had. From our experience, it sounds like his plan is a declining dollars plan, which basically operates like a debit card with an amount being deducted for each meal. Most schools that we're familiar with offer plans which combine an actual mealplan which has a certain number of meals per week, with a declining dollars plan. This allows for eating at various locations on campus and not just the main dining hall, as most campuses these days have certain types of fast food restaurant options or coffee shops, etc. </p>

<p>I have to say that $900 is a very low amount to expect to pay for an entire year's worth of meals. For comparison, my D at NYU had the choice of plans which ranged from 10 meals a week (the minimum required for traditional dorms) which costs $3200 per year and includes $250 declining dollars per semester, all the way up to 19 meals a week which costs $3470 per year with $150 declining dollars per semester. There are also flex plans with various amounts, the largest of which is 225 meals per semester with an annual cost of $3780, with $175 declining dollars. There are various others but that gives you a good idea of the comparative cost and you can see that it certainly is a LOT more than $900! I don't think I could feed a growing boy at home for $900 a year! ;)</p>

<p>My D who is at U of Toronto has a mealplan which I believe covers 200 meals and it is roughly $1950 per semester, with a couple of hundred declining dollars included. So, the costs are fairly comparable, although one is in Canadian $$. :)</p>

4

<p>At my Ds school, if you don't spend enough money by targeted dates they simply remove the money from your account. She always has money to use before the target date and ends up buying meals for friends, etc. Chocolate, too bad your S and my D can't do a meal plan switch - she has too much - he doesn't have enough.</p>

5

<p>Not to be rude, but $900 really isn't all that much. The meal plans at the school I'm looking at range from $3200 to $4900. I'd probably be going with one around $4000.</p>

6

<p>My S's meal plan (not flexlible for Freshman year)cost us almost 4000 dollars. And didn't cover many meals (he figures each cafeteria meal cost over 11 dollars). This year, we are giving him 350 a month to buy and/or cook his own food, and saving over a 1000.</p>

7

<p>nunofyurbeesknees, Can't your D go into the store or snack area and use the left over $ to buy bottled water, cans of soda, snacks for her room. Some schools we looked at allow for this.</p>

<p>Choc, thanks for the heads up about the meal plan. Although $900 does sound like it is not much for 3 meals per day, you would assume that it would take you through most of your meals if this is what they suggest. When one tours, they always talk about meal plans, but I never paid that much attention. I guess one needs to.</p>

8

<p>Chocolate, It really adds another 1000/year to the room and board bill I guess. That is really not right, if that is a typical scenario.</p>

<p>Slappy Sam the 900 is per semester. What is not right, is that meals cost more than what is budgeted for.</p>

9

<p>325 Meals / $50 Dining Dollar$ $1,876 MOST INCLUSIVE PLAN
This plan is perfect for the student that has a healthy appetite and plans to eat three meals per day. It is deal for athletes and students that live in a college house that has a dining hall, such as Kings Court / English House and Hill House.</p>

<hr>

<p>Wow what a variety of options. At my school the ONLY students required to take a meal plan are FROSH. You do have options and if one calculates a semester as 16 weeks crank you cost from there. I chose the most flexible w/ fewest dining hall meals and greatest "dollars" accepted at other venues. I never ran out and always had dining meals left over but I spent more money on meals each semester than the plan cost. All dollars self destruct at end of semester so you better buy lots of soft drinks, bananas or sandwiches. </p>

<p>I have had friends, including a roommate who took the mandatory plan but NEVER stepped intot he dining hall.....forfeited the funds. </p>

<p>I cannot imagine any FROSH guy who ways more than 90# getting through one semester on $900. Are you certain that the school didn't have other options? That is just not believable........really. I know kids at lots of schools and that just isn't standard. The cost of dinner scanned at my school is $13.+ so if you aren't that interested don't scan for a dinner. You have to crunch some numbers on this stuff and believe me even kids who have tons of cash crunch the numbers and figure out the best way to spend these compulsory plans. Following FROSH year my school requires NO PLAN.</p>

10

<p>my daughter has the very minimum plan that is only allowed for students off campus and living in on campus apts/townhouses.
Still she says she doesn't use it much- so we probably wont be going with it for spring semester.</p>

<p>their room and board is fairly pricey as part of cost goes for maintenance- the lower meal plans pay a higher percentage of cost for the build maint.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Plan A-($4,922) is designed for a student who will seldom eat off campus and eats breakfast most weekdays. The spending rate assumes a heavier than average eater who will often take advantage of the late night dining hours.</p>

<p>Plan B-($4,242) is designed for a student who will eat most meals on campus and will occasionally make it to breakfast. The spending rate assumes an average eater who will occasionally take advantage of the late night dining hours.</p>

<p>Plan C-($4,046) is designed for a student who will occasionally eat off campus and will rarely make it to breakfast. The spending rate assumes a lighter than average eater who will rarely take advantage of late night dining.</p>

<p>Plan D-($3,438) is designed for the apartment dweller who will eat at least one meal a day on campus and occasionally takes advantage of late night dining. This plan is only available to off campus students and residents of college owned apartments.</p>

<p>The plans operate on a declining balance or debit system. Depending on the plan selected, students begin each semester with a set amount of funds, Commons Cash, electronically added to their balance. Students then draw down on their balance as they purchase food.</p>

<p>A portion of the payment for a meal plan is kept by Reed to pay for building maintenance and a portion is paid directly to BA to cover their fixed costs. The remaining portion of the payment is given to the student as Commons Cash.</p>

<p>The A plan has a purchasing value each semester of $1,576, the B plan $1,236, the C plan $1,138 and the D plan $834. All plans include a bonus equal to a 5% discount.

[/quote]
</p>

11

<p>I calculate that Choc's S has been in school for 2 months. That means 60 days. Even skipping breakfast, one would need to budget at least $10 a day for food, or at least $600. So far, he has spent $700. That does not seem unreasonable an amount. Still, it is a nasty shock if one has not budgeted for it.</p>

12

<p>I wonder how kids at Chocolate's school who don't have parents who can just deposit money.......no additional help from family, how do those kids continue to eat? Do they have any way to help these kids? I don't see how a kid would call a family whom they know couldn't help. I think those kids live on catsup soup and PBJ. I don't like reading that......really bothering me.</p>

13

<p>I generally figure a semester is 15 weeks.......go a little early and leave on time. He could have been in school for 2 weeks of August also......I don't know what school this is.</p>

14

<p>rm and board is a big cost.
calculating dorm and board costs and you can really come out ahead if they live off campus.
However- if you are getting finaid, those costs will not be calculated into "need" and so your aid may go down quite a bit.
But really if we took the same amount of money that we paid for the dorm- albeit a nice dorm room and she had a single- but still it would have easily paid for her portion of a house-
so if you have extra- buy a house nearby and you can rent it out!</p>

<p>Re running out
My d has actually always had extra points- since they go away at end of term she shares with students who have run out or aren't on a plan
Her school also has "scroungers" who take care of left overs ;)
The food is good- but I think if you bought your own, you could really save a lot- depending on what you usually eat</p>

<p>Dorms also have full kitchens so that kids can share meals and store left overs in fridge-</p>

15

<p>At DD's school - large univ - they have 3 meal plans - if you live in a dorm - you MUST have a meal plan - all include points for on-campus meals and bucs as well - they have the 19 which is for the big eater (3 meals a day and 2 on sat/sun)- the 14 for 2 meals a day - the 9 for 1 meal a day +2 to spare - all have declining balance account attached as well - can be used all over campus in places other than the dining hall.</p>

<p>What bugs me tho - the meal points are added to the ID card on sunday - and what you do NOT use - you loose!!!!! That made me crazy!!! and a waste big time!!</p>

<p>They also have 3 commuter plans as well - much better plan - 40 or 64 or 95 meals per semester and include bucs as well - meals have to be used up by end of semester - but you control when you use them - bucs can be carried over to next semester no problem.</p>

<p>The $900 plan of the OP is very very low for a student who eats most meals on campus - and it sure is a declining balance type of thing - those are the most difficult for students to manage I think - there must be another plan that could be considered for this kiddo.</p>

16

<p>My skinny, still growing S just called a couple of days ago. His food card was down to less than 100 bucks. He's been at school since mid-August and is averaging $8.50 a meal, $25 a day! Three meals a day in the dining halls and a few on-campus restaurants that take the dining plan. Friends of mine with girls said they never had to add points to their meal cards, in fact, they had to spend them down in order not to lose the money at the end of the year. But either the food is really expensive at S's univ. or he's eating like a horse! We just put another $500 on it online (very convenient), which should get him through November, I hope! </p>

<p>So, I know what you mean Choco... S even apologized for spending his food card so quickly. I felt horrible that he would feel badly about it. He really is such a rail thin kid and needs to eat more, not less. Still $25 a day does seem like a lot, but I guess not for prepared food, if you think about it. It's definitely more of an expense than we had expected.</p>

17

<p>So it is all dollar for dollar ....... never a meal for a fixed amount? No option for an eat whatever you want for x dollars?</p>

18

<p>some schools do have all you can eat- but my impression is that those schools see a lot of waste- because people take more than they are going to eat- and then those schools have bulk food like chili and pasta and stuff that is filling and cheap.( but not very yummy)</p>

19

<p>I think my school has certain meals that are offered in that form.....Sunday brunch I believe is one. Obviously I am naive about some plans, it is just a shock to me that is all. I mean I studied what my best option was when I had a compulsory need to get a meal plan. I have a plan now but it is very small and mostly for the necessity of meeting w/ students who eat only dining hall meals, I cannot require them to meet elsewhere nor would I do that. So a couple of times a week I eat in the dining hall. The rest of the time I eat from food trucks, food court or specialty that accept the card w/ dollars on it or just pay cash. I don't worry about it much and I have planned out from previous years what I usually require. I also eat away from campus. I am just stunned to read these posts. It seems that perhaps some colleges don't do a good presentation to students during the summer prior to leaving for school. Making it easy to see what the true cost might be, how many meals one can eat for an avg. cost type of thing. I have been in institutional living for so many years, camp, boarding school etc. I just didn't have these situations that I read about here. I have had my own apartments during summers and miraculously could eat breakfast at my office which was deluxe. Anyway this has been quite informative for me. I feel very badly about some of the circumstances tho.</p>

20

<p>Our household food costs have dropped a lot now that the kid is off to college. When you consider the lump sum, the college food plan seems expensive, but I think we are saving over what we used to spend.</p>