<p>My freshman son wants to sign up for the plan with the most meals ( 3 a day Monday to Friday and 2 on the weekends). I am concerned he won't like the food and end up wasting money on the meal plan while he spends money in fast food restaurants or other eateries on campus that uses "college bucks" and not the meal plan. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Check with the college. Sometimes they don’t give freshmen a choice and they have to have the most expensive plan. It keeps them from starving. He’s going to eat out with his friends regardless. My daughter had the most expensive plan and she had a job so we didn’t give her any money. The second year she chose a less expensive plan, still had a job and we still didn’t give her any money. She is very healthy and I don’t worry about her eating. He’ll eat the dining hall food if his friends are there, if he’s in a rush, or if he has no extra money.</p>
<p>All schools handle this differently. Our son’s school prices all first year meal plans the same however it starts with unlimited and then offers a few options with # of meals/week with differing dining $'s. The higher meals/week the fewer dining $'s. Most students go for lower meals/week with more dining $'s giving them more flexibility. I think my son had 15/week and never used that many. There is usually a time frame (2 weeks) after the semester that students can make changes. Usually they can go UP but not down. So if you have 13/week with $400 dining you can upgrade to unlimited, but if you start with unlimited you can not go to 13/week. These are just examples but you get the idea.</p>
<p>I would check out the schools dining website and see what is offered (required) for first year students, price, and what the option is to switch (if any). If switching is an option for a time period I might encourage him to go with a lower one (very, very few kids are up for breakfast daily), and see how that fits into his schedule, where he and his friends are eating, etc. Adjust as necessary.</p>
<p>Our kids’ school has one price for the meal plan. All freshman have to take the plan with the most meals and then second semester adjust from there. If he starts eating at the fast food places, his “bucks” will run out quickly. Just tell him he needs to manage those dollars wisely first semester and if he runs out you won’t add more. Then re-evlaute for 2nd semester.</p>
<p>Depending on your school the $'s aren’t just fast food/aka junk and unhealthy. Meal swipes tend to be for the all you can eat cafeterias. The $'s can be used at other dining options that may offer deli sandwiches, salads & wraps for example. Perhaps for breakfast they are a lighter eater and don’t want to use an entire meal swipe just to pick up a banana & yogurt they can get with $'s at the coffee shop. It’s all about what is offered, how your student eats, and what is going to work best for them.</p>
<p>Is he spending his money or your money? Would it work to give him a certain budget and he could choose either the largest meal plan with little left over to go out, or a smaller meal plan with extra cash for off-campus meals? If he doesn’t have the money to spend, he can’t “waste” it.</p>
<p>At my D’s school freshmen were required to buy the largest meal plan (an all-access, unlimited meal plan) so there was no choice. They’re also required to buy a certain amount of dining dollars that can be used at on-campus retail venues and some off-campus places, but if they’re unused at the end of the year they can be refunded. She ended up eating almost exclusively in the dining halls and will get 95% of her dining dollars refunded. Of course, she’s used to my cooking, so she thought the dining hall food was fabulous.</p>
<p>My S originally signed up for 14 meals per week, but when he got to campus the upperclassmen told him to switch to 10 meals and more dining dollars. They were right, and he never used up his dining dollar allotment. His school allows adjustments the first 2 weeks of each term (can go up or down in # of meals) Shelly, check out what your son’s school allows.</p>
<p>The most underused part of a meal plan should be the breakfast. Although they probably exist somewhere, time has come to revamp the meal plans and offer the first meal at noon and add a midnight buffet. :)</p>
<p>I signed D up for unlimited. She gets 20 meals a week plus $$ to use in the cafe. The difference to drop to 15 meals is really negligible in price. She generally ate 15-20 during her sport season and she liked knowing she could always eat if hungry. She eats out maybe 3 times a month with classmates (on her dime). In her third quarter, though, she is getting sick of the food.</p>
<p>She has always eaten breakfast; even if she sleeps until 10, she is hungry immediately and wants to get something to eat. When lunch starts on Sunday at 11, she is usually right there. I’m getting my money’s worth.</p>
<p>Xiggi, I have to disagree. I have daughters who actually do register for morning classes and eat breakfast in the dining hall. Starting meals at noon would have them taking a class or two with no fuel. Not very healthy or smart. And no, they would not prefer a midnight meal.</p>
<p>Most schools offer either a specified time when you can change your meal plan or options to buy more if you are running out. My older two did fine on a flexible plan that worked out to about 14 meals/swipes a week. My son said if he had an early class he didn’t have time to stop for breakfast, and if he didn’t have an early class he slept through breakfast, so 14 meals per week worked fine for him. He always seemed to have left-over swipes. Also his school offered late-night options which was handy.</p>
<p>For the record, the “recommendation” was tongue-in-cheek. Schools are not about to abandon serving breakfast. And especially not when the last meal offered is more than 12 hours before the breakfast. This said, it would be a great idea to have a late meal plan.</p>
<p>As far as the breakfast goes, I wrote that it was the most underused portion of the meal plan. That does not mean that people do not eat breakfast. YMMV is the motto here. But look at how many people have or would recommend a 14 (or ten) meal plan. That mostly assumes lunch and dinners during the week, and perhaps brunch during the weekends.</p>
<p>What is the difference in price between the maximum plan and the lower ones? It might not be worth worrying about at this point.</p>
<p>At DD’s school the difference between 14 meals/week and 21 meals/week is $97/semester. The school is valuing those extra meals at almost nothing. If she bought even one meal a week it would cost more than being on the 21 meal plan. So any potential waste in her case is almost microscopic.</p>
<p>S1 was at a school where the cafetaria was in the residence hall. This U is 7 hours away so I knew he wouln’t be coming home on weekends and would be eating mostly there. Although most chose the 14 meal plan for their freshman, I chose the 19 meal plan (3 a day weekdays/2 on weekends.) The cost between the 14 to 19 plan came out to be something like $2.00 more a week, the cost of a glass of milk and cookie if he wanted to use one of his snacks as a meal. S1 is a picky eater and stays on campus so he actually ate almost all of his meals at that cafetaria (or one of the others closer to classes). He’s a junior now and still has the 19 meal plan (although he says he probably doesn’t use all 19 any more). S2 is a freshman at another campus that was required to buy unlimited. He probably eat 10 meals a week (usually not breakfast as the cafetaria that serves this is far from his dorm) but they are encouraged to come and go and treat this cafetaria as their kitchen. S2 doesn’t take advantage of it as much as he should so questioning what to do next year. OP if your son is a big eater and the cost difference isn’t too great, go with the bigger meal plan. The cost difference is wroth the peace of mind.</p>
<p>I cringed at orientation when several parents argued and debated over the various meal plans (complaining about meals not carrying over from week to week etc.) At my daughter’s school there is less than $600 cost difference per semester between the 19 and the 10 meal plans - when you are shelling out over $40,000 a year for tuition - it is ridiculous to argue meal plan costs. That being said, you need to think about what type of eater your child is - if they will never eat breakfast then go for a smaller meal plan. Also plan on adjusting the meal plan the second semester if the first semester plan does not work out (and maybe continue to adjust as they change accommodations from year to year and sometimes have cooking facilities and sometimes don’t)</p>
<p>At Carnegie Mellon everyone said to go for the plan with the most flexible dining and the least meal plan dollars. They were right. At other schools there may be better food. My younger son loves the food at Tufts and is happy to have them feed him at every meal.</p>
<p>I think I’ll need to buy 2 meal plans…
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1283107-colleges-boy-who-always-hungry.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1283107-colleges-boy-who-always-hungry.html</a></p>
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<p>I disagree. Every penny helps. $600 could cover a lot of incidentals in college. </p>
<p>He’s likely to be on the go so much that his schedule might not make it convenient for him to eat in the cafeteria for every meal. And you are correct, sometimes he’s going to want to go out with his frends. 10 meals and non perishable food or frozen food in his dorm works out fine for a lot of students. It did for me when I was in school. I plan to do the same for my daughter. It’s also good practice for meal and money management.</p>
<p>My d’s school is like blueiguana’s in #3. Two choices for freshmen/soph, one has more caf meals, the other has more “dollars.” The cost is the same.</p>
<p>D never uses all her meals. Work and clinicals take her off campus during meal times, and there isn’t any gluten-free food at the after hours establishments. Does it irritate me? Yes and no. No, I’m not crazy about the extra money, but when I compare plans (junior next year, can move to a smaller plan), the “cost” of those extra meals is around $2 each. Is it worth $2 each to have the meals available in case she can eat on campus? Freshman year, definitely.</p>
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I think for most males this will not be enough food. Plus in most dorms there is no way to store frozen food and may not be a way to cook it. And no time or inclination to shop for it.</p>
<p>So he likely will be buying all those extra meals, which will wipe out your savings.</p>