What type of food do typical dining hall have? Is there main meals or do they just have a wide selection? Are they normally all-you-can-eat style or is it a one plate thing? I got the 15 meal plan at my school which is three meals on weekdays and two on weekends, so I would just like to know how the whole dining hall works. Thank you.
I know all colleges are different, but if you can then just tell me what a typical college dining experience is like. Thank you again.
It really isn’t typical at all.
Some colleges have one central dining hall, which may offer food barely any better than public high school food, or at the other extreme, food that is roughly on par with an upscale hotel buffet. (Some schools’ food service is in fact run by companies such as Marriott)
Some colleges have multiple dining halls all serving the same menu daily. Others have multiple dining halls serving completely different menus from one another for variety. Others have one or more dining halls and also one or more on-campus “restaurants” that are part of the dining program and have more specialized menus.
Some colleges focus strongly on healthy food made from local ingredients, perhaps even including ingredients from an on-campus farm or garden. Some colleges have fast food chains (McDonalds, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, etc.) all over campus.
Some colleges have all-you-can-eat dining plans, while at others it’s a-la-carte. Even at the a-la-carte ones, some require you to pay so much in advance that its effectively a forced all-you-can-eat just to get the value of your dollars back, while at others you only need to put a modest balance in your account and you can pay as you go.
Ultimately, this is really a question to ask on your specific school’s forum and/or to research on their website. I’ve dined on a couple dozen different campuses over the past 20 years, and no two of them have been the same.
I’m counting 19 meals if you’re having 3 each weekday and 2 on the weekends.
As noted, every school is different, but a typical set up is a cafeteria line with multiple options of entrees, sides, salad, desserts etc available. You may or may not be allowed to come back for seconds. The quality may vary. Unless you have some unique dietary need, you’ll likely find something acceptable even if you don’t like one or more of the options.
Maybe my math is wrong but I still have the 15 meal plan lol.
In my experience, Burritos. Lots and lots of Burritos. Not complaining, of course, but I had way too many Burritos.
@DreamSchlDropout Said it perfectly. It depends and hopefully you should get an idea at freshman orientation.
My school: no prepaid plans. You have $X freshman year and have to spend it at any of the dining facilities. The main freshman facility is a la carte and salad bar (pay per ounce) and other items like grill food and desserts. Another facility has fast-food places. There were also some restaurants off-campus that would accept dining dollars but you’d eat-up your money in a hurry by eating there too frequently.
Like all others have said, it varies widely by school. But I may as well throw in my own experience.
The dining plan has changed a lot since I was a freshman, but here’s how it works now:
There’s only one dining hall that’s technically free, but you have to swipe in with the person at the front when you arrive. Once you’re in, you have unlimited access to whatever they’re serving from 7 am (9 on the weekends) to 11 pm. The catch is, you can choose among three meal plans: One has unlimited meal swipes and the others allow for 2-3 meals a day. (Freshmen are required to be on the unlimited plan though.)
However, the meal plans that allow for fewer meal swipes also allow for more “[School Mascot Redacted] Bucks,” which is basically a set amount of money that you can use at the three different cafes on campus. Basically, it’s a set amount of free money that you get every semester that you can access by swiping your Student ID. Thus, people who prefer the cafes to the dining hall will opt for more [Mascot] Bucks and fewer meal swipes, and vice versa. (If you run out of Bucks or don’t want to use them, the cafes also take cash/credit.)
And finally there’s the late-night coffee shop, which runs from 6 pm to 2 am on the weekdays and 8-2 on Friday and Saturday. They only take cash or credit.
TLDR: Free food guaranteed 9 AM to 11 PM. No food available 2 AM to 7 AM.
Back when I was at UW-Madison, the Southeast dorms were served by Pop’s Club and Ed’s Express.
Pop’s was a traditional cafeteria: entrees, sandwiches, burgers, salads, sides, desserts, assorted beverages. You grabbed a tray, loaded it up, and sat down to eat (or carried your food out without the tray…).
Ed’s Express served subs, nachos and pizza primarily. They had a cooler with campus-made ice cream, shelves with chips and candy and bottled drinks… but for me it was all about the subs, pizza and nachos, which were like $3 apiece and constituted a meal.
Is there a College Confidential forum for your college? If so, post the question there. That will give you details of how the food service works at your school, plus helpful school-specific nuggets like: “Breakfast lines are long. Keep donuts and OJ in your dorm room.” or “The curried noodles on Wednesdays are delicious.” …stuff like that.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like my university has a forum page on this site.
too bad. Facebook or something similar?
My generic advice is to keep breakfast snacks and OJ in your dorm room. There will be mornings where you’re late for class and don’t have time for the cafeteria or cafe.
Have you looked at your college dining hall page? It might contain hrs and sample menus. There may be more than one dining hall available and each might have different hours.
Have you looked to see if there is a YouTube video of the school and maybe dining hall?
Have you looked up the definition of the “15 meal plan”? Your school might have something quirky like dining halls only been opened M-F (3x5=15) or you can actually only get 15 meals a week meaning you are on your own for the other meals (or pay extra to eat other meals in dining hall). If there are off-campus food options or student union having food options, you will need to research that. In addition to having extra $ to cover it. If you will need extra money for food, you need to talk with your parents.