<p>I'm reviewing the traditional meal plans and trying to determine what it is my daughter will need. </p>
<p>I understand that a facility takes the meal plan, cash and credit cards, but can anyone give me more of an explanation of MealChoice (as opposed to the Meal Plan), CornellCard (as opposed to a credit card).</p>
<p>Also, Big Red Bucks vs. City Bucks. Are they the same except one (City Bucks) is used off campus?</p>
<p>If my daughter wanted to get a smoothie at night on campus, or some other dessert, does a unlimited meal plan cover that, or would she then use the big red bucks? Just trying to get a handle on the terminology. </p>
<p>Sorry if this seems like a silly question. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>go with traditional</p>
<p>The Debit programs on that page you posted are only available for upperclassmen. Freshman must enroll in a traditional meal plan. The meals cover what you eat in the dinning halls (RPCC, Appel, west campus, etc), the BRBs cover what you get at the a la carte places (Libe Cafe, Bear Nasties, Statler). </p>
<p>I would not recommend the unlimited plan. You get much fewer BRBs (only $300 vs $400 or $500) and that is what you tend to run out of. It kind of forces you to always eat a dining hall. Most students end up eating fewer meals than they plan on, too. Here’s a trick: you can start out with fewer meals, and upgrade to more at any time for no cost. But if you downgrade after a certain date, they charge you a fee. </p>
<p>CornellCard is like a credit card on your ID, but the charge goes on your bursar bill. It can be used both on campus and in some locations off campus. </p>
<p>Ive never used citybucks, but I imagine they can be used in the same places that teh CornellCard can be used, but it is a declining balance.</p>
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<p>Or no meal plan at all, if they prefer (although this is rare). The only students who are forced to be on a meal plan are the upperclassmen who live in the West Campus houses.</p>
<p>Take the 10 meals a week plan and give your kid a couple of hundred bucks in extra cash to compensate. Although freshmen enjoy eating together in the dining halls, it is surprisingly difficult to eat 14 meals a week there. Time conflicts arise, and kids end up eating somewhere else and paying for it with Big Red Bucks or cash.</p>
<p>If and when you give your kids “cash” please make sure they add this cash to their Big Red Bucks account b/c BRB are tax-free. If you pay for cash at a a-la-carte place you will pay tax. </p>
<p>It is cheaper to eat in college town though but not a convenient option for freshman.</p>
<p>I ended up deciding to get 10 meals a week because you can upgrade you dining plan anytime you want when if you start out with one that offers too many meals, you only have like 2 weeks to downgrade, after that you just lose the money. Thats for the beginning of each semester.</p>
<p>Thanks so much. You’ve all been a huge help! I actually downgraded her plan based on your feedback. After hearing that the biggest demand was for the Big Red Bucks, I checked out some of the dining facilities and realized that not as many places were on the meal plan as I thought, but they all take the BRB.</p>
<p>Do BRB carry over or do you lose them when the semester is complete? Do you know if you can you monitor and fund the balance online?</p>
<p>Thank all of you so much for responding!</p>
<p>yes…</p>
<p>dining.cornell.edu </p>
<p>is the place where you can manage your student account (add laundry money and big red bucks)</p>
<p>BRBs carry over from fall to spring, but not to the next academic year. This is allegedly due to some New York State tax law, and not anything in Cornell’s control.</p>
<p>My freshman year I did 10 meals/week because I often used BRB’s on campus for lunch and used my meals when I was back at North at dinner time. Big Red Bucks can only be used on campus, and can either buy a meal at a dining hall if you decide to eat more than 10 per week, or can be for any of the a la carte places on campus. BRBs are tax free, but after my sophomore year, I just used Cornell Card on campus to buy lunches so that I didn’t have to worry about adding more, or losing them at the end of the semester. If you eat on campus a lot (I ate mostly at my fraternity) then the tax can add up and it is worth using BRBs.</p>
<p>Cornell Card charges directly to the bursar and can be used to buy food on campus, things from bear necessities (a convenience store on North campus), books, concert tickets, etc. I did not have a credit card earlier in college, so I used Cornell Card. </p>
<p>City Bucks charges to your bursar and can be used at restaurants in collegetown and some places on the commons. This can be helpful if you go to lunch at collegetown bagels, or order delivery to your dorm. I used city bucks when I wanted a break from campus food. If you have a credit card you really don’t need city bucks. </p>
<p>Personally, the only kids that really avidly use city bucks do it because it charges to their student bill and their parents dont realize that they are being charged for expensive collegetown meals. You can buy beer with citybucks at jasons, you can also order drinks and charge it to citybucks at maxis, ruloffs, collegetown bagels, stella’s, etc. So as a parent definitely ask a few questions if you start seeing a few hundred dollars of city bucks charges! And if you are a kid and you don’t have a guilty conscience, it can be nice to buy drinks or food on your tuition bill instead of with your debit card!</p>