<p>Anybody know how the food service is at CMU (preferably from experience not from online surveys, etc.)?</p>
<p>Unless things have changed, CMU is expensive if you don't have a kitchen and cook some of your own. Most kids charge a la carte since the all you can eat cafeteria options are more limited than at most universities. So big eaters can really charge up a food bill. My son who lived in a house at his college was complaining about food costs and the availability of protein, so I bought him a small freezer and loaded it up with Hot Pockets and other more balanced frozen stuff that he could just easily nuke since he was not interested in cooking. CMU is the also that type of school.</p>
<p>Ya know it is much better than most places. we have everything from indian to (fake) mexican. I say fake b/c its not really mexican food. gingers isnt bad at all. and the service there is really good. I personally like the food. Ya should stay away from the sandwiches at gingers in baker...soggy sandwiches. idk I like it and so do lots of my friends. as long as you MAKE sure to visit each food place at least once a week you will not get tired of the food.</p>
<p>where exactly can you eat with the normal food plan without spending extra money?</p>
<p>yes, i just visited and paid $15 for two deli sandwiches and two cokes.</p>
<p>Food here sucks and is expensive.</p>
<p>End of story.</p>
<p>i second that.</p>
<p>but i hate this school for many reasons.</p>
<p>Oh no, easttowest...tell me why you hate it!</p>
<p>I would advise anyone who is looking for a social life in college to avoid this school at all costs (this however does not include drama kids because they get really close).</p>
<p>Oh man. Everyone that I know here hates it. I am trying to transfer myself and I personally know seven other kids who have applied to transfer (five freshmen) and one who is still really thinking about it (he is looking at schools who's deadlines haven't passed).</p>
<p>There are just so many bad things here (besides some academic departments, namely Computer Science and Engineering) but even these good academic departments do not make up for the people here.</p>
<p>You can private message me for more detail, but if you search through my other posts, you can find most of my complaints. My newest one is that they are destroying the fraternities here. That was the last stronghold of the campus social life.</p>
<p>I've been getting heavily divided opinions on CMU's social scene. Some people seem to love it, some hate it. It seems like the crap food is unanimous, though. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to learn to cook.</p>
<p>Seriously, I don't believe that the social life can be that terrible - I mean, U Pitt is right next door, if you're stuck for people to hang out with. Please don't make me regret turning down Caltech for exactly this reason (plus others, of course).</p>
<p>There will always be a certain number of students who find out that they have made the wrong college choice for one reason or another. I have known students who found out they were not happy at the college they decided on and left or transfered, but the majority of the students I know absolutely love their first choice. A college choice is very personal. What one student likes another will not. That is why there is a transfer option.</p>
<p>The food thing is not unanimous. My S has found places to eat that he likes. He says that if you are a really picky eater then you would probably not like the food.</p>
<p>ThinkDifferent-</p>
<p>you can read my problems with Carnegie Mellon from some other posts. Most of my complaints are academic (but then again, I am in the humanities). Hmmm.. choosing CMU over Caltech, well if you don't mind the weather being cold and gross then I think <em>socially</em> you probably will be fine. This is especially true if you fit in with the type of kids here. They are very... different. Nice but reserved. I need a more outgoing crowd. I doubt Caltech is more fun than CMU though so don't worry. Also, kids will be impressed with you since a large part of the student body is kids who really wanted to go to MIT. Good luck.</p>
<p>Food costs will be very nearly the same at any school that you attend. The food service trend is towards food courts-small food stores that can cater to specific tastes. </p>
<p>Personally I kinda like the cafeteria style because it was all the coffee, mike, sodas that you can drink. And fast. Food was OK, bland and colorless. You could also use the meal ticket to go to any other dorms for meals. </p>
<p>I really hate it when you go to Mick D's and the guy ahead of you takes 5 minutes to order- and ends up with a mac, coke, and fries.</p>
<p>I can also add that food here sucks, the meal plan gives you terrible options. On weekends and late night you seriously have about 2 places that you can go. The meal plan is far too expensive and I would suggust getting off it as soon as you can and eating the noncampus truck food as it is much less ($4-5) and much better.</p>
<p>Social scene, not that good. I would say the happest people here socially are overweight girls and geeky cs majors (though of course everyone here is geeky, including myself). Those two groups have lots of people like them to be friends with.</p>
<p>What's noncampus truck food, _42? When I visited CMU, it was at the end of August when everything was closed. Seriously, the place was like a ghost town. I had a hell of a time trying to find somewhere to eat. I didn't see many places to eat outside the campus.</p>
<p>there are about 5 trucks (ice cream truck size) along margert morrison next to the busness building. Most of them are associated with restraunts in the area and provide pretty good ethnic food. I would say that alot of undergrads get food there and also almost all profs or grad students that buy food. They are not there early or late or on weekings,though.</p>
<p>Are you saying that you have to eat out of plastic and styrofoam containers for four years? Can you get a "real meal" with balanced food groups? And if you go to the food trucks, do you just walk around eating your food?</p>
<p>You can eat at Schatz Dining Room. Check the dining services web page at:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cmu.edu/dining/%5B/url%5D">http://www.cmu.edu/dining/</a></p>
<p>Thanks for the link! It looks like a decent place to eat, especially as compared to standing next to a truck. I wonder why more students don't eat at Schatz Dining Room?</p>
<p>I've been looking at the site, and I have one thing to ask: where the hell are you supposed to eat on weekends?</p>
<p>Also, aren't there places off-campus but nearby where you can eat, apart from trucks? I don't mind a little walking if it means good, cheap food.</p>