Freshman - Meal plan or no meal plan?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>To anybody who knows something about this topic, would you recommend that a freshman at MIT get a meal plan or not?</p>

<p>Right now, I cook for myself on a daily basis, but I'm worried that cooking could become too time-consuming in a busy college life setting. A lot of the dorms I'm considering also require that freshmen get hefty meal plans, so... I'm very confused as to how I should navigate this situation. Other facts to consider are that I don't mind cafeteria food, am very health-conscious about what I eat, and eat a relatively small diet compared to others (probably because I'm not very active lol). Any advice/suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>The meal plan is a huge waste. You can buy already-prepared food for cheaper at more flexible times around campus, and cook when you want to, if you don’t go on a meal plan. You can go purchase individual meals for not much of a loss whenever you want to.</p>

<p>(When I was on the meal plan, my costs were actually higher than the individual meal cost. Though I was on a special junior-senior plan that allowed me to take fewer meals per week for a cheaper price, but I only recall one or two plans actually saving you money if you actually used all your meals. But, again, there’s cheaper food around campus anyway.)</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the advice! However, if financial cost wasn’t an issue, what would your response be?</p>

4

<p>My response would still be no. I think the food around campus was better than dining hall food (except their brunches, I did like their brunches :P)</p>

<p>But if cost isn’t an issue, then why go on the dining plan? Just eat meals there whenever you want and pay the one-meal prices. </p>

5

<p>:O Do you happen to know what the one-meal prices are? (can’t seem to find it on the Internet)</p>

6

<p>I was not a fan of the meal plan. Depending on the dorm/plan you get, it’s like around $10 per meal… which I think is A LOT! Do you usually eat $20-30 per day in food? I struggle to imagine that.</p>

<p>Star Market (a grocery store chain) is very close to campus, and cheaper than shopping at LaVerdes (the small store in the student center). I had a mini-fridge and a convection oven in my dorm room, as well as a shared suite refrigerator, so I found grocery shopping to be far more affordable.</p>

<p>Heck, it is cheaper to walk a few blocks down Mass. Ave to McDonalds for a combo meal.
Royal East (a Chinese restaurant near campus) has $6 lunch specials.<br>
For $4, you can get lunch from one of the various food trucks that visit campus each weekday.
At Clover Food Lab’s truck (parked near the MIT Medical center), you can get an excellent chicken fritter sandwich for $6.</p>

<p>Unless you can take advantage of the meal plan’s all-you-can-eat portions, skipping the meal plan is generally cheaper… even if you do not do grocery shopping. There are enough inexpensive food options available around or just outside of campus that I imagine it is easy to eat for under $20 per day.</p>

<p>For what it is worth, I knew a pair of siblings at MIT who shared a single meal plan. And that worked pretty well for them, along with some supplemental grocery shopping. </p>

<p>And, since meal plans range from 10 to 19 meals/week, you will likely need to supplement your meal plan with groceries/food trucks/restaurants anyways.</p>

<p>For people who don’t eat huge, all-you-can-eat portions, I just don’t see the meal plan as being economical. </p>

<p>Looking at my financial records, I spent about $3600 on food last year, between groceries and eating out.
Compare that to the $3600 meal plan that gives you 12 meals per week… you will likely still need to supplement between 2 - 9 more meals per week, outside of the meal plan.</p>

<p>Learn to shop, learn to cook… indulge by eating out… and you can have an affordable and delicious undergraduate life!</p>

7

<p>If cost was not an issue, I think I would still avoid the meal plan.</p>

<p>When I did not feel like cooking, I enjoyed grabbing a sandwich from the Clover food truck (<a href=“http://www.cloverfoodlab.com/”>http://www.cloverfoodlab.com/&lt;/a&gt;) or going to Ebi Sushi (<a href=“http://www.ebisushi.com/”>Ebi Sushi Bar - Somerville, MA) in Union Square, or getting dim sum in Chinatown. </p>

<p>I tried my first falafel from a food truck in front of 77 Mass Ave. Ever since, I used to grab one every couple of weeks.</p>

<p>The Chinese food trucks around MIT are bleh. Hit Royal East (<a href=“http://www.royaleast.com/”>http://www.royaleast.com/&lt;/a&gt;) or Mary Chung’s (<a href=“http://www.royaleast.com/”>http://www.royaleast.com/&lt;/a&gt;) instead.</p>

<p>Visit Mike’s Pastry in the North End. They are famous for their cannolis. (<a href=“https://www.mikespastry.com/”>Almond Biscotti by Mike's Pastry - Goldbelly)</p>

<p>Take the T to Sullivan Square and stop by Vinny’s. They have the most amazing chicken parm. They have a wonderful pink sauce that is to die for. (<a href=“http://www.vinnysatnight.com/”>About Us | Vinny's at Night)</p>

<p>Browsing around Newbury Street? Hit Thai Basil (<a href=“http://www.thaibasil.info/”>404: This page could not be found).</p>

<p>Explore the sights, the sounds, and the food that Boston has to offer!</p>

8

<p>Wow thank you for all the valuable tips! Btw, do you mind me asking which dorm you lived in? Based on my current feelings about each of the dorms, a lot of top choices are the ones that require meal plans for freshman, and I’m not sure if deciding not to get a meal plan should overrule the dorm I choose in the end. And also, how much time would you say that not having a meal plan takes up? I’m worried about time especially since adjusting to college life as a freshman can be stressful :-S </p>

9

<p>Even if you’re not on the meal plan, you can still eat at the dorm dining halls (not to mention the many food options on- and off-campus), so you’ll be able to choose food that someone else prepares when you’re feeling crunched for time – not being on a meal plan takes up as much time as you want it to. Speaking for myself, I mostly ate prepared meals first semester freshman year, and then second semester, I transitioned to mostly cooking on the weekends and eating leftovers during the week. </p>

<p>I agree that the presence or absence of a meal plan shouldn’t be your top criterion in choosing a dorm, but it is something to think about.</p>

10

<p>So a meal plan could never have worked for me personally because my primary source of calories and food cost is organic skim milk, and I have unusual allergies that are hard to avoid in prepared food.</p>

<p>On the other hand, a good friend of mine started out in Random Hall, which has massive kitchens and is a block away from the grocery store, making it the best dorm for cooking. She took a year off. When she came back she moved to Simmons, partly because she felt that she needed a meal plan so that she could have less to worry about.</p>

<p>Random Hall is organized around food. The kitchens are massive. Everyone gets massive fridge space (2-4 people per fridge) and cabinet space. Most social interaction happens in kitchens. Most p-sets get done at a kitchen table. Most arguments involve dishes. We have a grocery store on our block and enough restaurants on the rest of the blocks around us to entertain us when we are too lazy to cook. But we’re the only dorm in this situation.</p>

<p>If you don’t mind spending money, you don’t have freaky allergies or food preferences, you don’t mind cafeteria food, and you choose a dorm that is close to a dining hall but does not have spacious kitchens, I recommend that you DO get a meal plan. I can’t imagine trying to cook in a dorm that isn’t built for a food cooking lifestyle. That is, I can–I lived in MacGregor for a summer. The kitchens are literally dents in the wall in the hallway. There isn’t even a place to sit down while your food is cooking. And grocery shopping when the grocery store is >1 minute away is not fun.</p>

11

<p>I lived in MacGregor my first 2 years, before moving off campus to live with a grad student guy I was seeing at the time.</p>

<p>When I was taking 84 units the spring of my sophomore year, my schedule was so tight that I never would have had time to grab lunch at a dorm most days. Packing a lunch or grabbing from a food truck was much more convenient for me. </p>

<p>On occasion, I would go to Lobdell (the food court in the student center) and grab a $5 foot-long sub from Subway. That, in of itself, can be a day’s worth of food… but the lines are really long at lunch time.</p>

<p>I guess, for me, I felt like I was too busy running from one class to the next, to truly take advantage of the meal plan on a daily basis. So packing food or grabbing something quick was what I usually did. When I had free time for lunch one or two days a week, I generally enjoyed eating at a nearby, inexpensive restaurant.</p>

<p>Plus… I still think the meal plan is a bit pricey. $20+ per day for food via the meal plan is just too much.</p>

12

<p>@x3Strawb3rry‌ - The non-plan prices are $8 for breakfast, $11 for lunch, and $14 for dinner. You can look at the FAQ here:</p>

<p><a href=“Dining | Division of Student Life”>Dining | Division of Student Life;

13

<p>I have this fantasy. In my fantasy the MIT administration decides to make a grand gesture of goodwill, a gesture that says, “We really value our students,” and makes dining for freshman FREE! That’s right, MIT, take a page from Google’s book and make it really easy for students to make the transition to MIT. </p>

<p>The interesting thing is that it would cost much less than you would think. Students on financial aid (over 60%) would still be paying the same amount to MIT (their EFC), so only 30-some percent of first-years would be subsidized. In addition, students would still go out to eat, eat at fraternities, get food from food trucks, and cook for social reasons.</p>

<p>C’mon, MIT, take the leap, act like the companies your students will be working for soon, step into the 21st century. Making eating easy and stress-free so the students can do what they came for: drinking from the fire
hose!</p>

14

<p>WOW! $14 for dinner!
For comparison…
$13 = 8 oz. sirloin steak + 2 sides @ Texas Roadhouse.
$14 = grilled BBQ chicken breast + pulled pork + 2 sides @ Texas Roadhouse
$12 = ginger battered crispy fried chicken + rice + miso soup + salad + dumplings + tofu @‌ Ebi Sushi
$12 = breaded pork cutlet + rice + miso soup + salad + baked potato @‌ Ebi Sushi
$12 = beef with pepper and onion in black bean sauce @ Royal East
$13 = spiced fish fillets with peanuts @ Royal East
$12 = General Gau’s Chicken @ Royal East
$10 = crispy pad thai @ Royal East
$13 = roasted eggplant pomodoro + spaghetti + salad + rolls @ Bertucci’s
$13 = panang curry + rice @ Thai Basil
$12 = crab meat fried rice @ Thai Basil</p>

<p>Note… these restaurants also have cheaper options than what I listed above.
I just wanted to pick out some restaurant meals that are less than or equal to the price of a meal plan dinner.</p>

<p>Personally, if I had to spend $14 for dinner… I think I’d prefer dining out.</p>

15

<p>I live in New House and never opted for the meal plan. Too expensive, meals don’t roll over, and it’s far cheaper to just go to the student center or Kendall/Central, or Star Market/Trader Joe’s (although not as convenient). However I have a bike, so it only takes ~5 min from NH to the student center, and <10 min to Star Market.</p>

<p>Basically, if convenience/walking distance to food is a top priority and you don’t mind the cost, or if you really want one of the dining dorms, then the meal plan probably isn’t a bad idea. Otherwise, I wouldn’t go for it.</p>

16

<p>I mean, if we’re talking quality, anything @nakoruru mentioned is way tastier than what I’ve had for dinner in a dining hall.</p>

<p>If we’re talking convenience, buying one-off meals at the dining hall when you’re lazy and buying one-off meals at other places when you want something tasty is probably the way to go.</p>

17

<p>I think meal plan vs. no meal plan depends on what you plan to do in MIT/what you want to get out of it. If your goal is to study 24/7 and not want to think about having to cook for yourself, then by all means chose the “easy” way of just having a meal plan. However if you want to challenge your previous life style and live like an independent adult, I would recommend NOT getting a meal plan, even if it means living in your second choice dorm (and anyway, any dorm that <em>requires</em> you to have a meal plan already seems to me somewhat paternalistic). </p>

<p>To add, cooking is a great study break and a good way to hang out with friends at the same time. Whether you are in an organized cooking community (such as some of the cultural houses) or cooking with a few buddies, you really bond with the people you cook with. It is a great life skill, why not learn it? </p>

18

<p>^ The dining halls aren’t open 24/7, so that wouldn’t really help you to study all the time anyway :stuck_out_tongue: There’s always Verde’s.</p>

19

<p>Thank you for the advice everyone! :slight_smile: Mainly due to dorm preferences (Next House is my top choice right now, which requires a meal plan), I’ll probably be aiming for the lowest meal plan possible. This way I can sort of experience having a meal plan vs finding food for myself for some meals and learn what works best for me. Hey, at least Next House has the best food :stuck_out_tongue: (or so I’ve heard from CPW haha).</p>

20

<p>Sure, if price isn’t an issue, go for the lowest meal plan. It is a huge waste though if you actually have the time to cook for yourself. </p>

<p>Next food is okay, but I did not notice a big difference between it and Baker/Simmons. They all serve pretty much similar things. (I know brunch at McCormick is pretty good – though nothing I couldn’t make myself, and the price I would pay for one meal would last me for half a week’s worth of brunch/breakfast, whatever). I tested this out using friend’s guest passes, haha. </p>

<p>@PiperXP, what I meant is that if you want to study 24/7 you probably won’t have time to do the grocery shopping just to make regular dinners/breakfasts. Meal plan helps you avoid this. </p>