<p>But I can't find anything that says how the dining plans work. I can sort of get that you use "resident points", but how many resident points do things "cost"? The online menus don't have any indication. How many points do you get a semester, and how many points does, say, a sandwich cost? A bowl of cereal? A piece of fruit? A salad? A full dinner with entree and sides?</p>
<p>I also see that there's an option for all you can eat breakfast M-F, but no indication of what it costs.</p>
<p>And what is the "focus system"?</p>
<p>It's all so vague... It seems like it would be so much simpler to go to VA Tech where it's all you can eat!</p>
<p>The beauty about the a la carte system is that you can get that milkshake, cookie, or grilled cheese at 11:30 at night before it closes without wasting a "meal" for the week.</p>
<p>You get 1150 resident points a semester. Think of that s $1150 to spend at the dining halls and Adele's. You get 250 Terp Bucks. That's $250 to spend at the convenience stores, cafes, and delis. Things cost about what they would cost at any food court. Some food at the convenience store is a little overpriced.</p>
<p>At lunch and dinner there is always a value meal that costs around $6-7, where you get an entree and a couple sides. At Cluckers you can get a 1/4 chicken and two sides for 7 or so. Getting a cheesesteak or quesadilla is a little pricier; getting a cold cut sandwich a little cheaper. I don't know how much the all you can eat breakfast is--it must be new.</p>
<p>The focus system is there to make sure freshmen learn to budget their meal points. Because resident points don't carry over semester to semester, they want to make sure you're spending them at a reasonable rate, which is about $200 every three weeks. It's tough learning: if you don't spend the points, you lose them. </p>
<p>$200/3 weeks is about enough to eat 2 hot meals a day, 7 days a week. They don't expect you to eat breakfast in the dining halls every day--they expect you to buy some cereal or what have you at the convenience stores using your terp bucks.</p>
<p>The point I ALWAYS try to make is that the system is VERY EASY in practice even though it seems confusing on paper. Swipe your card, look at your balance, eat your food.</p>