I’m tempted to get ultimate with a $200 monthly private check an allowance for eating out. When we visited on Blue and Gold day the food was lacking to say the least.
This has been a hot source of debate on a few of the Pitt parenting boards this year. I believe Market did have some struggles with inspection. They are supposedly working on things. I’ve even there during an off weekend (i.e. they didn’t “lay out the good stuff” on a parents weekend) and it wasn’t bad. I’m sure like any dining hall it does get old sometimes.
:::shrug::: My own kid has never complained about the food. She’s on upper campus though so maybe Perch is that much better? It seems every student is going to have their own opinion. Our daughter was home last summer and we put her in charge of cooking dinner 3-4 nights per week including shopping, meal planning and cooking. She was more than happy to return to school where she could just drop in basically at any time and choose from a selection without having to shop for the meal and prepare it. She’s actually choosing to live on campus a third year (not necessarily out of a love for the food mind you, it was just easier than having to navigate a lease with friends who were all on different co-op and study abroad schedules!)
You should find the Pitt Parents Page on Facebook for the class of 2023. I’m sure you guys can talk about it and help each other figure out the best plan.
The plan with the lowest number of swipes is the one to get. Dining dollars are more useful.
(unless your student is a big eater, or an athlete, etc).
Not happy with D’s plan. We went with the lowest number of swipes, and max Dining Dollars. She had 30 swipes left at the end of the Fall semester and over 100 Dining Dollars…so somewhere around $400 wasted for the semester. She lives in Forbes Hall, which is 4 blocks from Market.
@shortnuke My S had a ton of swipes left and $350 dining $ remaining, but the dining $ should have rolled over for you to this semester.
I do wish they had a plan with less swipes.
Why would you pay extra for an unlimited plan if you don’t plan on eating in the dining halls that much?
Just get a plan with fewer swipes and more dining dollars. You can add dining dollars or use Panther Funds or credit card for your other on campus or off campus options.
There are lots of restaurants around campus that students want to try out.
I have eaten at Market 3x while doing the college search with my daughters… nobody was impressed. My daughter starts this fall… I still have no idea what to pick… I know she loves her fancy coffee drinks.
Then get her the plan with 100 dining passes (covers eating at Market Central about once a day), and $825 dining dollars (can be used at other campus eateries and Starbucks).
get the lowest swipes
you can easily refill her panther fund account online which is accepted at the food stands, even a lot of non-Pitt ones ob campus,as well as at the laundry etc.
@Andromeda10 The leftover Dining Dollars from Fall did transfer to the Spring. Now, she’s sitting on ~$500 that she’s going to be hard-pressed to spend in the next two weeks. They won’t transfer to the fall, so we’ve wasted a lot of money between DD and swipes (probably close to $1,000).
What bothers me even more than the forced swipe/DD plans is that we get no discount whatsoever when purchasing them. 1 DD is worth $1 case. Since there’s no discount or other advantage, we would have been much better off having no dining plan and simply having her use our Rewards credit card. Our card offers 2% back on restaurant and grocery purchases,
A lot of schools require meal plans for students that live in residence halls, probably to make sure the students don’t go hungry.
If the student can’t use all of the swipes or DD up, they can donate swipes to other students, or buy nonperishable groceries in the Forbes Market and keep them for off campus living, or donate to a food pantry.