<p>I just dont understand the Commodore card thing - I realize it shouldn't be so confusing but...</p>
<p>Why would I add the recommended $750 when the meal plan includes 4 meals (more than plenty), flex meals AND $200 per semester on the Commodore card? I would assume my S would buy books with a credit card so what else could they possibly need that money for?? I understand they can use it for laundry and other food off campus but $750 seems so excessive. Any insight would be appreciated!</p>
<p>First, the $200 you speak of is Meal Money and not Commodore Cash and can only be used in dining places, varsity markets, and certain off-campus restaurants.</p>
<p>Commodore Cash on the other hand can be used for much more such as laundry, the bookstore (not just books), and to pay for campus events (fundraisers, concerts, special sporting events, etc.). It can also be used to purchase off-campus event tickets through Ticketmaster at the Sarratt box office. Also, if you run out of Meal Money, you can transfer Commodore Cash into that account.</p>
<p>Commodore Cash can be very helpful but if you don’t think your son will use it much for the above things, put less than $750 on it. You can always add money if he needs it later on.</p>
<p>I never put that much on my card. I usually go to the office and write checks when I need to add money for laundry. I provide my own spending money, so I pay for everything else with debit/cash.</p>
<p>Thank you. I guess we will add enough money for laundry and such. I think 4 “meals” plus meal money sounds like a lot compared to other meal plans I have heard of so the Commodore Card will really just be “spending” money. I like silversparkles idea of providing his/her own spending money - we may just follow suit!</p>
<p>I just wanted to point out that the meal plan doesn’t provide 4 meals–it provides 3. Yes, it’s kind of confusing, and I thought for the longest time that there were 4 meals a day too! But if you read closely, it says that you get 3 meals a day, that there are 4 meal periods per day, and (here’s the part that tripped me up) you get 1 meal per meal period. That last part does NOT mean 1 meal EVERY meal period–just that you can’t use all 3 meals in one period or something. You can only spend one 1 meal every period.</p>
<p>Hope this helps a little!</p>
<p>nice clarification, takat. thanks d2theustin09 and silversparkles</p>
<p>OK, so how about it for those other upperclassmen who post here. How many of you could comment on about how much Commodore Cash you use a semester and for what reasons? We would rather see our son use a credit card so we can earn airmiles etc for books and other expected larger out of pocket expenses. </p>
<p>thanks for more comments from current students and their parents.</p>
<p>My kids put $1000 per semester on theirs, but they only had 8 meals per week on meal plan after freshman year. Faline, if I had been the one paying, I would have wanted them to charge their books to credit card for the same reason, but their dad was paying, so they paid for their books each semester from this amount. That ranged from $300-$450 depending on what they were signed up for that particular semester.</p>
<p>so kind of you to give your specifics, it all helps…to get a handle on book per semester etc.
Can I ask you (although I am sure eating varies drastically from student to student in terms of habits and preferences)…did they use cash on campus for the other meals during the week…tend to eat in their dorms for breakfast…go out to nearby eateries, order in? </p>
<p>Just wondering why they dispensed with the campus meal plans except minimum purchase…thanks for any insights. I do know West End/Hillsboro pretty well myself and know there are good buys nearby.</p>
<p>My kids tended to go to the grocery every week or two for breakfast type foods such as PopTarts, breakfast bars, etc. They both lived in Towers for three years as upperclassmen and were able to cook a few meals as well (easy pasta things, Lean Cuisine), but also liked to eat off campus quite a bit. Many of their favorite haunts off campus accepted the card so they used that money to provide meals. Of course, this balance also went towards laundry, special events tickets, t-shirts from the bookstore for Rites, NCAA appearances, Music City Bowl, etc. You could use the card to buy cab cash for trips downtown as well, but I believe this is now extinct.</p>
<p>thanks again…I didn’t know the taxi thing was defunct.<br>
With freshman Commons and the dazzling food options there, Poptarts and Lean Cuisne will be a big step down! 
however, taking on upperclassmen living in cozy suites and rooms with favorite friends and being more independent has its upsides. </p>
<p>My son is from a fairly backwater town. He is going to really love Nashville which pretty much has everything but isn’t overwhelming either.</p>
<p>I started both of my kids with $1000 on their commodore card. It rolls over semester to semester, and you get the balance back when they graduate. My D used her commodore cash, not only for books, but despite the (overly) generous freshman meal plan, she seemed to go to places that didn’t take the meal plan (for example, Iris Cafe on Peabody), Bread & Co (just off campus), other off campus places (for dinners with friends etc). Also, because you can only get one meal per meal peiod, if she picked up a smoothie and then wanted a salad and both happened to fall in what is considered lunch time, she’d have to pay for one. (she rarely got down to the actual breakfast meal). I’m glad she only has to take 14 meals this year, and that you get a small amt of cash back if you skip a meal (which you don’t on the freshman meal plan).</p>
<p>I hadn’t heard that taxis are no longer on the commodore card.</p>
<p>Maybe I’m wrong about the cab cash thing. I thought D said they weren’t selling it anymore around a year ago, but perhaps it was just a change in the system.</p>
<p>Thanks, Bridie. Especially for the explanation about Commodore Cash rolling over and being able to get any unspent portion back…I know we can read this online. However, it still feels good to hear from parents directly about any concerns or reassurances re handling money via Vandy’s options. A 14 meal plan is more than reasonable, too for upperclassmen.</p>
<p>After one semester when my daughter went overboard with non-essential spending on the commodore card, I now put only enough on it for laundry. You can put nothing on a commodore card if that is your preference. It is a tempting bit of money to use at the bookstore. For my daughter, it was so much easier to buy things at the bookstore, where prices are horribly inflated, then to go online or even across the street to try to get the best price for anything from books to toiletries. She ended up using the card for expensive tee shirts, sweatshirts etc. with Vandy logos that I never would have agreed to purchase. I know that the kids of many of the parents on this board are highly responsible and would never spend money in ways that a frugal parent would oppose, but mine turned out not to be so responsible. Obviously the kids need to learn how to conserve their money, but I thinking putting hundreds or even a thousand on a card like that divorces them from the reality of spending. My daughter said she felt like the money had already been “spent” and that she was just using it as a way of “avoiding spending more.” Ugh.</p>
<p>sounds like my D. she didn’t realize you got back the money at the end and thought she had to spend it all at first.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the great advice. Mirimon - your story is exactly the scenario I was imagining! After paying over $50K and getting a very generous meal plan, I feel very comforatable adding enough for ONLY laundry. After that, he is on his own!</p>
<p>FYI-the online version of the Commodore Card has $500 per semester as their miminum. If you want to add less you have to mail in a check. It does roll-over all 4 years, and you can get a refund.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, the first year meal plan is 4 meals per day, not 3. Unless they changed it for this year, it is 4 meals per day 1 per meal period.</p>
<p>I believe they changed it for this year, dirthog</p>
<p>From the Dining Web page on VU website</p>
<p>FIRST-YEAR Meal Plan</p>
<p>Designed to support and facilitate the activity of The Commons</p>
<p>•3 Meals daily - you choose</p>
<p>•1 meal/meal period (four meal periods daily)</p>
<p>•$200 Meal Money</p>
<p>•10 Flex Meals/semester</p>
<p>(First-year students are automatically enrolled in the First-Year Meal Plan)</p>
<p>yay glad the university changed that, will make them more money and not hurt anyone but the freshman get less food, nice.</p>