Any students currently studying, may I ask how much does a meal typically cost in the dining halls? I’m not sure to choose the tier 2 or tier 3 meal plan. I’m planning to eat most of the meals on campus, but maybe 20 meals per week is a little too much as I might not have breakfast in the dining halls sometimes, but tier 2 might be too less. If I’m choosing tier 3 now, I will get more advantages instead of topping up later. So I would like to have a better insight of the meals in the dining halls typically cost. Any thoughts?
How are salads priced? By the pound?
Since all pricing is still a la carte it would depend how much you eat per meal as well as how many meals you eat. This reminds of the eons ago system with different tiers. Today there is the advantage of computers and the Wiscard. You do not need to eat 20 meals for the top tier but the quantity of food would correlate with that many meals is my understanding. If you typically eat a lot less than most you won’t want to tie up funds in a food account. The left over funds (not the bonus items) can be used in future semesters and you can get a refund of unused balances when you quit being a UW student as my reading of the info goes.
I suspect they went to this system because there were students often running out of money in their food accounts who then needed to pay with other funds at full, taxable prices.
Find out if you can use the money in the food account the next year, especially if you do not live in Res Halls sophomore year.
wis75 is correct all dining is a la carte. Anyone with a Wisc card can put money on it to spend in the various dining locations on campus, including faculty and staff. So even after you’re living off campus you’ll want to have some money on your Wisc card.
Big change from recent times is the three different tiers. Interesting for me to see that- but the big difference from then and now seems to be that you can use the money left on your Wiscard even after you leave the dorms. And you can cash it in when you graduate- no trying to be sure there’s nothing left and lost.
Current students can tell us if they weigh salad bar foods- that seems logical and how I’ve seen done in other cafeteria settings.
Only dorm residents get a food discount- that is a specific part of the Wiscard that is only used in Res Halls facilities, not in the Unions. It also is only for dining, not laundry.