<p>How much should I put in my dining dollars and flex accounts? I'm not sure how much is enough. I'll be a freshman (obviously) and have meal plan 4.</p>
<p>And the amounts get credited to my student account where (if enough) outside scholarships will cover, right?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>dont put any money into dining dollars (freshmen dont need it, generally, unless u run out of points and meals, which prolly wont happen)</p>
<p>for flex, i'd say 20-50 range (just my opinion...im also a first-yr, so i cant tell u from exp.)</p>
<p>uh, when I was a freshman I added at least 200 dollars to my dining dollars to eat.
The rule to eat well is to have as many points as possible and to have the fewest meals. Even when I had that plan however, I ran out of points and resorted to dining dollars.
hope that helps,
C</p>
<p>but you can always opt for as many meals as possible and eat in John Jay all the time...which is a very unhealthy decision.
C</p>
<p>thanks! that gives me an idea of what i should put in my dining dollars. how about the flex account? did you use it often your freshman year? i don't want to put in too much since it's nonrefundable.</p>
<p>whats unhealthy about john jay? is the food really bad?</p>
<p>John Jay is decent for "brunch" and usually sub-par for dinner. If you live in Carman or Furnald, you will probably find yourself eating at Cafe 212 more than JJ for dinner.</p>
<p>I'm assuming it is unhealthy because it is all you can eat, and has items like pizza and stuff.</p>
<p>I went with the second plan, which offers the second-highest number of meals and second-least number of points for a few reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li>I eat a large amount of food (height 6'3").</li>
<li>It seemed a better value</li>
<li>I plan on getting exercise</li>
<li>I'll be in John Jay anyways so it's convenient (actually at the time I wasn't sure, but it was my first choice and I ended up getting it)</li>
</ol>
<p>I used flex for the bookstore and laundry. Super important to have.
John Jay food is good for brunch, terrible for dinner. I only did John Jay meals because it was social and was a good place to discuss things with friends.
C</p>
<p>Is it the quality of the food that's terrible at John Jay or is it the menu that's bad for dinner?</p>
<p>how much did you spend in a year on flex?</p>
<p>quality of food.
I spent a lot. more than what's healthy.
C</p>
<p>do you have an approximate amount? :)</p>
<p>above 500.
C</p>
<p>good lord. :/ what did you buy? haha i still have no idea what i should put in my flex account. thinking maybe 200.</p>
<p>books are expensive</p>
<p>i put $250 in my flex [i'm an incoming fresh.] just because i'm probably paying for books w/ my credit card..=/</p>
<p>my books are paid for by a certain scholarship. so then would my flex account be for various expenses?</p>
<p>i'm guessing various things in the bookstore that you buy during the year and such.</p>
<p>flex is good for books and stuff...and soda machines and laundry - I usually would put 100 at the beginning of the yr then 50 or so at a time when I ran out.
For first years dining - my rec is to go with the plan with the least meals and put around 500 on dining dollars. John Jay is nice, and great place to eat with friends, but it gets boring and, while it has wonderful breakfast and brunch, the dinners can suck (not always but more often than not). Cafe 212 has great sandwiches and ferris booth is awesome. By the time I hit my jr yr, I think I set foot in John Jay once the entire year. I also cooked more, which one can do if they live in JJ or furnald, not so much in carman.</p>