<p>It’s only expected that freshmen should have to buy breakfast, lunch and dinner for every day of the week - but I don’t like the fact that Amherst only gives 1 other option for a meal plan, which happens to be only lunch and dinner. What if you want to eat breakfast at the dining hall one day and go to a restaurant for dinner? The meals should be transferable. And there should be weekday-only options or something. I don’t know, it just seems a little weird, doesn’t it? Some schools have 7 meals a week, 14, or 21 plans. That way you have a lot more wiggle room.</p>
<p>Current Amherst students - what do you think of the meal plans?</p>
<p>As far as I know, there are no plans to change the meal plan. I certainly understand the downsides of Amherst’s system, but I’ve never found it to be too much of a bother. My friends who are on the lunch-dinner plan simply wait until 11 when Val opens for lunch and breakfast food is still available at that time. </p>
<p>I agree that the plan is in many ways not ideal, but I do like not having to count meals throughout the week or month. This prevents “oh no! it’s Wednesday and I only have two meals left” from occurring, and the meal plan is flexible in that students can swipe in as many times as they want per meal period with unlimited food after the swipe in. My friends at other schools often pay per item which might ultimately be more expensive or restrictive.</p>
<p>I’m not happy with my options, but I’m satisfied with them.</p>
<p>UMass has an amazing “Off-Campus Meal Program,” the sort of 7-21-24 that the OP had mentioned, with 30+ restaurants/bar+grills/cafes in town, which is a 5-15 minute walk for most College students. If only that could be combined with a 7-21-24 plan for Val. <em>whistles</em></p>
<p>The lunch-dinner option is only available to sophomores and upper classmen, by the way… and the compensation for breakfast is a 100 dollar voucher to Schwemm’s Coffee House on-campus.</p>
<p>First years must enroll in the full meal plan.</p>
<p>What you could do to bring great variety in your life is to take a course at UMass/Holyoke/Smith. The former is the state flagship, and the latter women’s colleges, so they’re bound to have both quality and variety at all times.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. So the lunch-dinner and full meal plans are equal in cost? I don’t care so much about the quality of the food, but I’d like to save on food if I can. Does everyone need to be on a meal plan?</p>
<p>After your first year, you can apply to live off campus, in which case a meal plan is not mandatory. However, it is rare for anyone who does not have kids or a spouse to live off campus, so I don’t know how easily you could get permission.</p>
<p>Also, if you can prove (i.e. get a doctor’s note) that you have some medical condition or dietary tradition such that the dining hall cannot reasonably accommodate your dietary needs, then you can get an exemption from the meal plan as well. However, this has to be something fairly hard for the dining hall to accomodate. For example being a vegan will not get you exempt because they will just say that the dining hall provides enough vegan options. I had a friend who was a raw-foods only vegan, and she could not get exempt from the meal plan. The dining hall’s raw fruit and veggie choices were limited and not always the best quality, so her mom brought her crates of fruit every week or so.</p>
I don’t care so much about the quality of the food, but I’d like to save on food if I can. Does everyone need to be on a meal plan?</p>