Choosing a meal plan ...... :)

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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<p>Some have been wondering which meal plan to choose.</p>

<p>Some have kids who like to eat frequently throughout the day, so they are considering the Unlimited plan. However, consider that your child may only be grabbing a small snack in between meals, and paying for those purchases outright (or with Dining Dollars) may be cheaper than getting an Unlimited plan.</p>

<p>The Unlimited plan is $1757 plus 300 for Dining Dollars a semester. That’s over $4100 for FOOD for one person! However, that doesn’t count the food that kids buy off-campus on weekends when out with friends…which they do! </p>

<p>You might consider buying a smaller plan and then give the difference for “retail dining purchase,” snacks, and off-campus eating. </p>

<p>Students do not eat all their meals on campus. Typically, on the weekends, they’re eating off campus. </p>

<p>You may get frustrated if you buy the Unlimited Plan only to have your child spend an additional few hundred a semester off campus. (Voice of experience here. My older son had the Unlimited the first year…big waste. Within a very short time he was eating off-campus with friends a couple of nights a week and on weekends. </p>

<p>The difference between the Unlimited and the Silver plan is almost $500 a semester. That buys a lot of off campus eating for a semester. </p>

<p>(Add $300 per semester for Dining Dollars)</p>

<p>Bama Unlimited - $1757 per semester*
Unlimited meals; please note that this does not include the required $300 Dining Dollars.</p>

<p>Bama Gold - $1579 per semester*
220 meals per semester; please note that this does not include the required $300 Dining Dollars.</p>

<p>Bama Silver - $1272 per semester*
160 meals per semester; please note that this does not include the required $300 Dining Dollars.</p>

<p>FYI…There are about 16 weeks in a semester.</p>

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<p>from all that i have read here, kids should buy the smallest meal plan possible.</p>

<p>between skipping meals and getting sick of the food, the required meal plan for freshman is way too much.</p>

<p>my DD will be going greek, so i think we will do the greek 50 (2-3 meals a week).</p>

3

<p>Absolutely go with the smaller meal plan or you are wasting money.</p>

<p>My son had the Bama Silver. He had more than 100 meals left over for the year. He lived in the suites. Nearly every morning, he had cereal, toast or bagels and coffee. He never ate breakfast in a dining facility. If he snacked, he and his friends went to Publix, Wal-Mart or Target to get things. He used all his Dining Dollars each semester. He and his friends liked to go out one a week for a nice dinner off campus. During finals week, they went to IHOP at 2 a.m.</p>

<p>He’s not making the same mistake this fall. His meal plan is $394 + his Dining Dollars. Most of his friends are going that route or just taking the Dining Dollars.</p>

4

<p>Very true about eating breakfast in the suites. </p>

<p>If your child is a bagel, toast, or cereal and juice and/or coffee breakfast eater, it’s much cheaper to just eat that in the suite. With Publix practically on campus, it’s easy for kids to buy stuff there. Microwaveable soups, fresh fruits, and snacks are also great to keep on hand in one’s dorm. </p>

<p>For a mid-morning snack, it’s cheaper to buy retail (such as at the Food Court, Gorgas Library, or the new places in Lloyds Hall then using a meal plan meal.</p>

<p>IHOP is very popular - my older son has been eating there a couple of times a week for the past 3 years. Late night at IHOP is a regular thing. </p>

<p>Kids get tired of eating 2-3 meals a day on campus - even with the many venue choices. The nearby off-campus places are like the sirens call wooing them away. LOL</p>

5

<p>Oh, yes, we are in this discussion. Son was shocked when I suggested he get the silver, which is 14 meals a week. He’s supposed to eat only two meals a day!</p>

<p>However, seeing how he wasted his 21 bucks on his action card during Bama Bound on junk food at the Ferg, if he doesn’t have enough meals, he’ll be needing more dining dollars or bama cash or whatever it’s called in nothing flat. So we want to make sure we’re not being penny wise and pound foolish.</p>

<p>It’s something we will be researching and discussing a lot this summer. If your kid is used to getting up and making his own breakfast and cooking for himself, I would definitely go with the smaller plan. But if your kid is used to having their food put in front of them when it’s meal time, an unlimited meal plan might be the way to go. Our son is definitely the latter. We know there will probably be a lot of unused meals left over, but he has got a brutal schedule with little time to cook, so I’d much rather him swipe his card and grab a banana a few times a day than go to the grab and go and buy a two dollar milky way. </p>

<p>I am so glad they got to use the Action Card during Bama Bound. It was a great learning experience. </p>

<p>And mom, I have to laugh at your shock over 4100 for food for one person. Don’t you have two boys? I can tell you, when son is out of school, my grocery bill triples. I have no doubt that he can eat 4100 worth of food in one semester.</p>

<p>Of course, any of you who have met my son will not be surprised at this.</p>

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<p>Which one is the plan that we are required to purchase for freshman? I want the smallest possible.</p>

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<p>D will be taking the smallest plan also. She doesn’t eat breakfast (on a good day she’ll grab a poptart or protein bar) and I figure that she’ll eat one meal at a dining hall and grab something quick with her dining dollars on any given school day. I thought Silver was the smallest plan, but then I thought I saw something about a Bronze plan while we were at Bama Bound…
From the website:
Annual Meal Plan, a predetermined number of meals*<br>
Unlimited Access $3,396
Bama Gold (220 meals) $3,052
Bama Silver (160 meals) (minimum required for Freshman year) $2,470
Bama Bronze (90 meals) $1,536</p>

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<p>I think the Silver is the default plan. I think this is the 14 meal a week plan. I was actually pretty surprised at how lenient Bama is with the meal plan. Lots of schools are requiring even commuter students to buy a meal plan, and many, many require freshmen to buy a meal plan that covers 21 meals a week. Kudos to Bama for offering a more affordable option for freshmen. We will look at not only son’s schedule, but also, what dining facilites are open at what times/days. This will help us determine what type of meal plan he really needs. For instance, if there are not any dining facilities open on the weekend, we’ll need to take that into account.</p>

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<p>The Bronze Plan is for non-Freshman. My kids have the Bronze Plan and did fine with it…they still had leftover meals. </p>

<hr>

<p>Montegut…
Yes, when the boys are home the grocery bill goes up. But I don’t spend $16k per year on just groceries for a family of 4 (Plus more when the boys are home for summer and Christmas).</p>

<p>I do think $4000 for one child for ONLY 9 months is a lot. </p>

<p>We did have the Unlimited plan before and it was a big waste. Within a few weeks my son was only eating 1 or 2 meals a day in a dining hall. The rest he was either using his Dining Dollars for a healthy snacks or eating off-campus with friends.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that the apples, bananas,and quick sandwiches bought at the food court and such are not meal plan. Those are retail. </p>

<p>I think the confusion is that a kid with - say - a Silver Plan might mistakenly think, “Oh, I’m only going to get 2 meals a day.” NO. Kids don’t only eat in the Meal Plan Dining Halls. Kids don’t only eat on campus. Kids also eat retail at Bama (such as Food Court and in the new Lloyds retail dining venues) and they also eat off campus - (Kids OFTEN eat off campus on weekends with friends).</p>

<p>If you buy a kid a Silver Plan and give him - say $500 per month. He’ll have 160 meals at a Meal Plan Dining Hall, $300 in Dining Dollars for on campus retail dining, and $500 in off campus eating. That is plenty. That $800 in extra food dollars per semester buys a lot of food. </p>

<p>But, if you don’t mind buying the Unlimited and then also giving him plenty of cash to eat off campus with friends, then… :)</p>

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<p>RobD: The bronze and Bama 50 are for the upperclassmen. Also, the numbers you listed are without the $300 in Dining Dollars each semester. Also, remember you can use your Bama Cash at a lot of eating places in T-Town and Northport.</p>

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<p>Annual Meal Plan, a predetermined number of meals
Unlimited Access $3,396
Bama Gold (220 meals) $3,052
Bama Silver (160 meals) (minimum required for Freshman year) $2,470
Bama Bronze (90 meals) $1,536 <a href=“for%20upperclassmen”>/I</a></p>

<p>Remember…this doesn’t include the additional $600 year for Dining Dollars ($300/semester) or off campus food purchases.</p>

<p>Those who will be pledging will get downgraded to a different meal plan.</p>

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<p>

21 meals a week? Required? Wow, I’d like to know what school does that. That’s crazy (speaking as a college freshman on a 8meals/week plan)</p>

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<p>Got to stand up for my son and explain for those of you who do not appreciate my sense of humor.</p>

<p>No, he will not eat 4100 dollars worth of food. I was just joking.</p>

<p>We don’t want him to be worrying about where his next meal is coming from. Believe me, I went to bed hungry a lot when I was in college because I was paying my own way, and it is not something I want my son to have to go through.</p>

<p>Seriously, though, it is something that merits research, and maybe even learning from experience.</p>

<p>For those of you who did have the unlimited at one point, are you able to track how many meals your child did actually use, to use as a gauge for the following year? I figure you can probably do this on the silver or other fixed plan, but my friends and I are wondering if we will be able to track used meals on the unlimited plan.</p>

<p>Thanks so much to the experienced moms and students on this board for your feedback on this.</p>

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<p>*But if your kid is used to having their food put in front of them when it’s meal time, an unlimited meal plan might be the way to go. *</p>

<p>No one puts a meal in front of students in college, either. If you want cereal for breakfast at the Dining hall, you pour your own cereal in the bowl and add the milk. If you want juice, you fill your own glass. In the Dining Halls, it’s a lot of “gathering of foods” which can be done just as easily from one’s own kitchen. </p>

<p>However, if your child insists on a big hot breakfast every morning, that may be different.</p>

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<p>I don’t know if there is a way to track how many meals a child actually eats on an Unlimited Plan. I never asked Bama Dining if I could get an accounting, but it may be possible. </p>

<p>However, when my son admitted that he was only eating in the dining halls about once a day (sometimes twice) and rarely EVER on weekends, I was able to estimate what he would need for future meal plan purchases.</p>

<p>I can understand the concern that a child have enough to eat and not have to worry. :slight_smile: But if you buy the Unlimited and the child doesn’t have another source of cash to eat off-campus with friends, then it can be an issue. No one wants to be stuck eating in the Dining Hall while friends are going off for lunch at Five Guys or wherever.</p>

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<p>Mom2k, thanks for the heads up on the Lloyd’s dining venues. Son will probably do some eating there, as he has a class there and in the area. As for grabbing a banana or muffin or other healthy quick snack, I was thinking he’d do that at Fresh Food, rather than the cash venues at the Ferg. </p>

<p>Again, lots of research will go into this. </p>

<p>As for money to buy meals outside, that will come into the discussion. If we do indeed spring for the unlimited, son will be on a budget for outside meals. Now, we’re not going to deprive him of the social aspect of going out to eat with friends. But we are also not going to encourage him to buy junk at grab and go or burger king instead of going into a cafeteria and making a healthy choice. </p>

<p>In other words, we don’t want him to think, Well, I’ve only got time for a banana, and I know there are bananas at Fresh Food. But that will take away one of my limited amount of meals. However, I can buy that candy bar for two bucks and not cut into my dining dollars too much. </p>

<p>Now, I would hope he would say, I’ll buy that banana for two bucks instead of the candy bar. But you see, at Fresh Food, there is no candy bar. I’m trying to remove the temptation here. Of course, there is also cake and brownies at Fresh Food, so I may be fighting an unwinnable battle.</p>

<p>Again, lots of research and discussion will go into this. I would like to do the Silver and then maybe do the Thrifty 20 if necessary, but if it’s more cost effective to do the unlimited, we may just go with that. Again, I would like to know if there’s a way to track meals used with the unlimited.</p>

<p>Another question. </p>

<p>Meals at Bryant Hall.</p>

<p>I think you are upcharged if you use a regular, nonathletic meal plan there for dinner, but what about for lunch? If you want to eat lunch at Bryant, do you just swipe a regular meal plan meal there?</p>

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<p>If I’m calculating correctly, with a 16 week semester the Gold Plan comes out to 13.75 meals/wk, Silver to 10 meals/wk.
So Momreads - if your son had like 50 meals a semester left on Silver, he only ate on the plan once a day? (6.875 times a week - LOL! got to love math!)</p>

<p>Hard to say having not had him there yet, but even with eating breakfast in the suite I think 2x/day on his meal plan seems reasonable to expect. </p>

<p>Now I am so confused! :)</p>

<p>Looking again though, and here we’re trying to decide between Gold and Silver (not unlimited), if the annual difference is $582, and that was divided to be an extra $291/semester that alots $591/semester (with Dining Dollars) for other food options. That seems like a realistic amount available for the retail food options… maybe that’s the way to go.</p>

<p>Also - where is the info about adding meals if necessary? The one where if my kid runs out of meals I can buy him a set amount extra? Was looking specifically for the cost.</p>

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<p>^^^^
I was under the impression that at dinner it is off limits to all but athletes but maybe I’m wrong.</p>

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<p>And mom2, I really do appreciate your gathering concept. That was my thinking in doing the silver. Go to the grocery and have it at hand in your dorm, so what’s the need for the unlimited? However, along with this gathering concept comes the responsibility and time factor of going to the grocery, doing the dishes. I know these may seem trivial things to us as moms, but remember, these kids are going to be doing homework, studying, laundry, and trying to have a social life. Of course, the cafeteria lady is not going to pour his milk or bus his tray, but she’s going to do his grocery shopping and wash his dishes, in her own way. And actually, going to the cafeteria is a social aspect of college life. I was in tears when we ate at Bruff on our visit to Tulane, as I watched the kids socializing in the cafeteria, having a good time, something I was never able to do, because I WAS THE CAFETERIA LADY.</p>

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<p>Sorry for getting emotional, guys. This is a touchy subject for me.</p>

<p>Where we were getting concerned about the two meals a day is that on some days, son has a very long day. But he has hour or two breaks more than twice during those long days. We would like him to feel free to go into the cafeteria and get something in his stomach more substantial than a candy bar or banana before heading to his next block of classes or lab. Even Dr. Sharpe commented that he needs to make sure he eats during those break times when we showed him son’s proposed schedule. As he’ll be leaving his dorm at eight am to walk across that big campus and not head back to hit the sack until eight pm that night, we don’t want him to worry about packing a lunch and snacks for the day, much less going to the grocery to make sure he’s stocked up for such things. I know he’s got a kitchen, but he’ll also have hungry roommates, and I don’t want his bedroom to turn into a pantry. We’ll be able to make a more informed choice when we research where exactly meal plans, bama cash, and dining dollars are used on campus. If most of his day will be spent in areas where meal plans are not even accepted, as mom pointed out, it may make more sense to buy a smaller plan. </p>

<p>I appreciate AL’s computations. My thoughts exactly when I hear about how many meals are left over. Where and when is the child eating? Maybe where his day takes him, he has to use dining dollars or bama cash rather than meal plans.</p>

<p>Maybe we can get some advice on how much of a food allowance in cash we should give the kids?</p>