<p>In reading the various threads, it seems that the combination of meal plan options and the quality of food is a major issue for those attending UR. Can you get healthy food in the dining halls? How is the salad bar? Is it fresh with lots of veggie and fruit options? Is yogurt available at breakfast and lunch? Grilled chicken available at all meals? Any place on campus to get sushi and smoothies? How are the vegetarian options? Dare I ask if organic food is available?<br>
As the parent of an incoming freshman who eats very nutritiously and prefers organic, natural food over processed stuff, the meal plans seem outrageously expensive with limited choices (looking at menus on CampusDish). I would love to hear from those in the know. Is Wegman's going to be her new best friend? Other than the food situation my D is very excited about attending UR next year! Thanks in advance for your responses.</p>
<p>Salad is available at all meals except breakfast. It’s OK. D describes it as boring (same stuff offered all the time), but veggies are fresh. Some are organic. </p>
<p>Fruit–in the fall there are lots of locally grown apples–some organic. Local peaches in the fall also. Oranges, organic bananas and grapes all year round. Fresh berries are limited to seasonal availability. Exotic fruit like mangoes—not very often, if at all.</p>
<p>One of the dining halls offers fruit & yogurt smoothies, but limited varieties.</p>
<p>A variety of yogurt cups are available at all times at declining $ locations. I believe, but not 100% sure, yogurt cups are available in the dining halls. (To be honest, D2 seldom talks about the dining halls except to mention the annual steak & cab legs extravaganza or something similar.)</p>
<p>Grilled chicken is usually available everyday at declining $ locations. But not in the dining halls.</p>
<p>There are some organic offerings in the dining halls, and Connections offers organic and sustainably locally produced options exclusively. (But Connections is declining only. BTW, the food there is very good.)</p>
<p>There are always vegan and vegetarian and Kosher options at every meal in the dining hall. And they are labelled as such. I believe there is vegan dining club on campus that shops together and prepares meals together. (Not thru the campus food service–it’s a student run club.)</p>
<p>Sushi (limited varieties) is available at declining $ locations. But not everyday. </p>
<p>The one thing that is not offered in the dining halls or declining $ at all is fresh fish or even frozen fish.</p>
<p>Yes, food is not the highlight of D’s experience at UR either, but she’s managed to feed herself in a fashion that she’s comfortable with and that is reasonably healthy. Didn’t have an issue with freshman 15 either. Really not sure how the new meal plans are going to change how students eat next year.</p>
<p>The food at any school lacks variety. Institutionally planned meals require bulk buying and preparation. </p>
<p>It’s funny, but while food at school generally has improved a lot over the last 2 decades - it is more nutritious and generally better - I think complaints have increased, perhaps because people now expect to eat what they want when they want.</p>
<p>A simple suggestion: with your roommate, you get a fridge from Walmart (or the like) in Rochester and a microwave and you take the shuttle bus to Wegman’s, etc. and get what you want to have on hand. Kids will typically get those two appliances and a tv - because all schools of course now have cable tv - and they’ll either split the cost or one buys this and the other that. You can go to Target, etc. a few miles from UR and get a microwave for $30. We ordered a fridge online because it was cheaper and picked it up at Walmart.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your responses and suggestions. I am surprised that grilled chicken is not a staple on the salad bar. My D’s high school cafeteria has it on the salad bar, along with yogurt and various nuts/seeds, etc. They also have a smoothie machine.
She eats grilled chicken, grilled salmon, salad, fruit, eggs, sushi, Kashi cereal, pasta, nutritional based smoothies, and stuff that is good for her. Even as a little girl, she despised french fries, Chinese food and donuts (can’t say the same for me though:)) Her vice is coffee!
I guess I will need to send her with a personal sized blender for smoothies and we will definitely get a fridge and microwave. I just wish there were other meal plan options for freshmen that allowed them more flexibility. I feel like the meal plan cost is outrageous (and in reading today’s Campus Times- it seems like many students are in a uproar about the proposed meal plan changes). I definitely don’t spend $500/month for her food - we spend $500/month for our family of 4 and we eat very well. It sounds like she will be at Wegman’s a lot. I wasn’t expecting “gourmet” food but in this day and age, I would have expected a lot more “healthy” options. I am sure she will work it out - I just don’t want to have to go into debt for it!</p>
<p>lergnom - I disagree with the first part of your last comment. My daughter goes to Pitt and the food selection and quality far surpasses anything I’ve experienced at UR. At Pitt I have a hard time choosing because everything is so good.</p>
<p>I do, however, agree with your last comment about a room fridge and microwave. Based on my daughter’s eating habits/style, she does this as well. The biggest difference is at Pitt you can select a much less expensive meal plan opton and afford the best of both worlds. Just saying.</p>
<p>The meal plan at UR costs less than we paid elsewhere. I would think it’s probably more expensive than some and less than others. A family is not a restaurant, and certainly not one that must be open long hours, serving a wide variety of fresh and prepared foods, etc. </p>
<p>Meal plans would be cheaper if UR ran a casino because cheap food in Vegas is subsidized by your gambling losses.</p>
<p>Room fridges are a good idea if you’re a picky eater or have a food allergy. There’s a free weekend bus to Wegmans, which means tasty yummy food, and many dorms (though not all) have kitchens. My floor has a small kitchen, but we still have weekend cooking marathons which are a lot of fun and a bonding activity. Other floors may differ.</p>
<p>The food is not bad. My perspective is biased, as I have a food allergy, so there are plenty of foods I have seen but not actually tried. My floormates seem pretty happy with the variety. They are good about labeling vegetarian and vegan options as such, and they also put up nutritional info for many dishes on the campusdish website or on labels in the dining hall (mostly for soups). I wish they’d label allergens as well as they labeled calories. There’s usually something I’m not allergic to somewhere on campus. The all you can eat are okay if you like that kind of thing; it’s not my preference so I rarely eat there. I prefer the declining-only pick your meal kind of places, like the Meliora (lunch-only sit down restaurant), Connections, Hillside, etc. But at my old college all I could eat was a sad, wilted salad bar 'cause they didn’t label <em>anything</em>. The food here’s definitely a step up from that.</p>
<p>EDIT: As for smoothies, they have milkshake ones with dairy at Douglass dining hall, and there’s non-dairy fruity ones at Hillside and Connections. There is sushi, but it’s declining-only and overpriced.</p>
<p>Can someone please tell me there is a Starbucks on campus? :P</p>
<p>There’s a Starbucks. They take declining only, which is limited on the new unlimited plans which freshman housing is tied to.</p>
<p>The giant Starbucks is in Wilson Commons.</p>
<p>I wanted to follow-up on this thread. Does anyone have details on the improvements planned for the Danforth and Douglass dining halls? Is the goal healthier food options or just making the facilities more updated?<br>
On another note, the theme for orientation is Willy Wonka. My incoming freshman said on the FB2015 page, the head of orientation is asking what type of candy everyone likes and we have to have sugar…also, on the orientation pages on the website, the first thing you learn about the orientation leaders is thier favorite candy. I am sorry, our country is becoming more and more obese. Wouldn’t it be better to focus on health and wellness options available at the school? How to make smart dining choices so not to gain the freshman 15? Exercise classes and clubs available…etc.
Also, I think the orientation leaders could provide much more relevant information than their favorite candy to the incoming freshman - examples - what was the one thing you did not bring from home that you wished you did, best course and professor that you had freshman year and why, something not to miss your freshman year, what surprised you most about Rochester, etc… Sorry if I sound like I am on my soapbox but health and wellness is my thing!</p>
<p>This is the newest update I have seen [Welcome</a> to CampusDish at Rochester!](<a href=“http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSNE/Rochester/Menus/DouglassDiningCenter.htm]Welcome”>http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSNE/Rochester/Menus/DouglassDiningCenter.htm)</p>
<p>They have not updated the Danforth page yet, except ifor an item ingredient list</p>
<p>It is looking like slim pickins’ for people that dont enjoy red meat.</p>
<p>I was hoping the theme was ment to be ironic or something, but I agree with you.</p>
<p>@lavender-- I think the orientation theme with the candy is meant to be an icebreaker and is not the heart of orientation. Incoming freshmen will introduced to clubs and activities. (Whole gym full of clubs recruiting when they go pick up the registration packets–also they get to gander at the gym facilities),</p>
<p>The purpose of orientation is to introduce the freshmen to each other so any organized discussion by leaders about best courses, best profs, what I wish I’d brought, etc might sound too much like lecturing from ‘older, wiser heads to ignorant freshmen’–which is something they want to avoid. They want the freshmen to feel welcomed and if everyone being silly together helps break the ice–so be it.</p>
<p>BTW, there will be plenty of informal discussions about profs and classes and clubs going on. In fact most of orientation is about academics and appropriate behaviors.</p>
<p>Way Out West Mom - I respectfully disagree. I generally find your posts to be very helpful and insightful and appreciate all the info you share with us. My child’s questions right now revolve around what courses to take (and professors to avoid), what to bring for the dorm room ( is not going the random route for a roommate so they are deciding on stuff), etc. Actually, my freshman has asked a lot of these questions to the kids her team. Views the upperclass kids as a resource and finds it extremely welcoming for them to share their knowledge and experience. The coach and team have been awesome.
Lastly, eating sugar is not everyone idea of fun - you can have a great time without it. One of the things I love about the UR orientation is the day of service. I am sure kids come away with friends for life from that experience while giving to the community.</p>
<p>I agree older students are resource, but any ‘counseling’ needs to be done informally. Not as a pronouncement from on high. In part because different students have different goals and perceptions and experiences and expectations for their education. Professor Z who Sophomore A finds a horrible teacher and bore, Junior Q might love. </p>
<p>If student goes into class already believing he/she is going to have a bad experience, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.</p>
<p>I strongly believe that a student should enter a classroom with an open mind–both about the content and the instructor. </p>
<p>I’m glad your D has the opportunity to ask questions of her older teammates. She already has a resource then. But not all students need or want advice.</p>
<p>As for the sugar–not my favorite thing either. (Or either of my Ds for that matter.) But I’d rather my D eat junk food than drink herself stupid. (Which happen during orientation with alarming frequency.) </p>
<p>And you missed my point— sugar isn’t the focus of orientation activities—it’s just a tool to get the students to interact with each other. No one going to be forced to consume anything. In fact, being a CO in the sugar games could be point of commonality as a beginning for friendships.</p>
<p>And perhaps the theme could have been–umm… a bit more meaningful, but dorm orientation activities are being planned by a group of 18-20 year olds who are trying to find the greatest fun commonality they can think of for a 1000+ kids they don’t know. Not exactly an easy task. You gotta give them props for trying–even if they didn’t hit a mark YOU like.</p>
<p>BTW, many schools do offer a day of service, not just UR. In fact one college D almost went to has a 5-7 day required offsite small group service activity as part of freshman orientation. Now I can see a weeklong service project leading to real friendships; 4-6 hours as part of a largish group–not so much. (Though it might provide people to go to meals for the first week or two.)</p>
<p>EDIT: there’s a thread from about a year ago of stuff to bring to campus if you’d like to resurrect it. Or if you want, you can start a new one.</p>
<p>Respectfully disagree again. I have attached a link to Denison’s orientation “Words of Wisdom”. <a href=“http://www.denison.edu/academics/firstyear/juneostaffgallery2.pdf[/url]”>http://www.denison.edu/academics/firstyear/juneostaffgallery2.pdf</a>
This is a wonderful and warm document - I find the orientation information on the UR website to not particularly helpful to either parents or students. Once again, I don’t care what candy an orientation volunteer loves and how much they loved their orientation. I assume that an orientation volunteer is selected because of his or her enthusiasm about the school. Share something useful!<br>
And on another subject, does UR post AP scores and credit given on Blackboard? Almost every one of my D’s friends have been able to go online at their respective schools and see how many credits they have earned. We have been unable to do so - unless we are looking in the wrong places. Thanks!</p>
<p>UR does post AP scores and the credit given in Blackboard. Choose the STUDENT ACCESS tab. Click on one of the ACADEMIC HISTORY options. Look for TRANSFER CREDIT at the bottom of the page.</p>
<p>UR’s policies for how AP credits may be applied to a student’s transcript vary widely by department/major. Some departments accept no or almost no AP credits for its majors/minors. Students cannot use AP or IB credits to fulfill any portion of their cluster requirements. Students cannot use AP/IB credit to skip freshman writing.</p>
<p>AP/IB credit policy here:</p>
<p>[Advanced</a> Placement Credit : Center for Academic Support](<a href=“http://www.rochester.edu/college/ccas/AdviserHandbook/AP.html]Advanced”>Advanced Placement : Advising Handbook : College Center for Advising Services : University of Rochester)</p>
<p>And for most ‘technical’ questions about grades, transcripts, clusters, graduation requirements, drop-add, withdrawals, etc</p>
<p>[Adviser’s</a> Handbook : Center for Academic Support](<a href=“http://www.rochester.edu/college/ccas/AdviserHandbook/index]Adviser’s”>http://www.rochester.edu/college/ccas/AdviserHandbook/index)</p>
<p>~~~~~~~</p>
<p>Your student will probably find that most of her AP/IB credits will go towards “free” or “unspecified” credit and will not count towards her graduation requirements. (Mostly because UR has no general education requirements which these credits otherwise would be used to fulfill.)</p>
<p>Thank you - nothing posted as of yet.</p>
<p>And probably won’t be posted until August when new student accounts are updated with their course schedules.</p>