<p>My daughter's considering trying the Cardinal FastPass her first semester, with some extra spending money on her card for meals elsewhere.</p>
<p>The housing contract only lists Trojan and Cardinal as the meal plan options. Does anyone know at what point she would choose the FastPass option rather than the 10 meals/dining dollars option, since there's not a place to mark that on the contract?</p>
<p>Thanks much!</p>
<p>i would advise against the fastpass option</p>
<p>i got sick of the dining hall food very fast...and i was eating at parkside too</p>
<p>dining dollars are a good thing</p>
<p>I've been passing on the comments here against FastPass to my daughter...but she is very concerned about stretching the $500+ for half the week's meals. (Can you really eat 9 more meals for roughly $31 a week, even if you have Poptarts for breakfast in your room a couple days a week?) She isn't a big eater but she does eat regularly (3 meals/day) and likes the security of knowing she can pop in for something anytime she wants. She figures if she gets as sick of it as everyone says, after December she can switch for second semester. (I've calendared the deadline.)</p>
<p>She'd be able to put some money on her USC card for meals outside the cafeteria, but it would still be cheaper than the Trojan plan. I've not been too concerned as when I was in college (back when we trudged 9 miles through the snow and all that, grin), we only had one cafeteria, with far fewer choices than are available at EVK, so I figure if this ends up being the wrong choice she won't suffer too much, LOL.</p>
<p>If anyone wants to chime in with their experience stretching their dining dollars to cover what amounts to daily breakfast plus the weekend meals, feel free and I'll pass the info on to her. What is the average price of a breakfast item (i.e., toast, if available) at the Commons?</p>
<p>Also still interested in when and where to sign up for FastPass. :) I may call Trojan Hospitality if no one has a quick answer. Thanks much, everyone!!</p>
<p>Can you explain what the FastPass is?</p>
<p>Commons is actually really good for breakfast. At Wolfgang Puck you can get 2 eggs any way you want them, hashbrowns, 2 pieces of toast, and your choice of bacon or sausage for like $3.65.</p>
<p>Cardinal FastPass costs the same as the regular Cardinal meal plan, but instead of 10 meals/week and a little over $500 in dining dollars, instead you get unlimited visits to EVK (or breakfast/lunch at Parkside).</p>
<p>I agree with the opinions on the FastPass option. I'm a big eater, but I found that it was sometimes hard to use 10 meals/week. I tended to use my dining dollars very conservatively for some reason, but I typically used them on lunches in Commons on some days and for snacks and stuff. I ended up taking upperclassmen out to lunch during the last week of school because of my dining dollars.</p>
<p>Keep in mind you probably won't need to eat at EVK/Parkside hardly ever during Welcome Week because of all the free food you end up getting from various activities. I think it was about 10 days before I first set foot in EVK for a meal.</p>
<p>Some clubs also might provide food during meetings, and also, if you make friends (which I am more than positive you will), you'll probably want to eat out every once in a while and sample the various cuisines Los Angeles has to offer.</p>
<p>So, my advice is either increase your number of meals by spending the money on discresh or budget yourself so you can eat non-USC food every once in a while.</p>
<p>hahaha I love free food. If you're clever you can find free meals at least once every week or two.</p>
<p>Food just tastes better when it's free :)</p>
<p>I'm not a fan of FastPass because it doesnt allow for variety... and you WILL get sick of EVK and Parkside at some point during the year...</p>
<p>Thanks for the continued feedback, it's appreciated!</p>
<p>yeah you definitely will get sick of evk, i think towards the end of the semester I ate about maybe 4-5 meals there at the most. I did sometimes go home on the weekends though. One thing to keep in mind that on campus on the weekends, downstairs commons is closed, only trojan grounds and commons (9-5) are open, so you'll be forced to eat at EVK/pside on the weekends.</p>
<p>Dining dollars are a good thing if you are stuck in the dining halls...</p>