<p>For meal plan</p>
<p>That’s what I got. I recommend it.</p>
<p>Depends on your eating habits. I asked the girl who hosted me during one of my overnight visits, and she said that first semester she used the Traditional Plan but always had extra meal swipes because she slept in and didn’t go to eat breakfast. She’s now on the 10 meal plan. Basically, if you HAVE to eat breakfast, get the 14 meal swipe plan (Traditional). That way you can get Breakfast and Dinner everyday.</p>
<p>Also, FYI, there’s only one dining hall that uses meal swipes on Central Campus, which I’ve heard doesn’t serve the best food. I’m planning on using my BRB’s for sandwiches/snacks in between breakfast and dinner at the other restaurants/eateries on central campus.</p>
<p>^
Okenshields is terrible. Better to use BRBs on Central.</p>
<p>I’m on ten and often have meal swipes left over even then. Dinner all seven days + Brunch Saturday/Sunday and occasionally a random lunch during the week. You can also use your BRBs if you run out of swipes.</p>
<p>How does the West Campus house system work for meals?</p>
<p>They say you get unlimited swipes during house meal times? and 50 extra? with some money as BRBs…</p>
<p>Can someone clarify this for me?</p>
<p>Yep, perfect. Unless you’re a pure three meals a day person. There will there will be plenty of missed breakfasts and a few missed lunches and when a better offer comes along then a missed dinner.</p>
<p>10 meals is a good number. I’d advise putting more food money into BRB’s than more meals. That way you have a lot more flexibility in terms of where you eat on campus. The meals are only good at traditional dining halls, but the best food on campus is usually at the a la carte places which accept BRB’s, not meals. Also, I haven’t done the math recently, but I’m pretty sure paying for meals with BRB’s comes out equal or only slightly more expensive than the cost-per-meal built into the meal plan.</p>
<p>^
What are your favorite places on campus? I don’t think the best food on campus are BRB places.</p>
<p>^You have to order cooked or prepared food. If you’re just getting refrigerated sandwiches and stale sushi it’s not going to be as good.</p>
<p>Like at where? Ivy Room? Trillum? Mac’s? Goldie’s?</p>
<p>I’ve posted this before in another threat, but think it’s relevant here too:</p>
<p>Unless you plan to eat 4+ meals a day, the unlimited plan is usually a waste. Dining halls are open for 3 meals a day M-F, and 2 on weekends (brunch and dinner).</p>
<p>That said, if you’re on the 14 meal plan, and want your 7 other meals a week, the dining plans come with BRBs (like dining debit dollars) - which you can use to buy meals and snacks at a la carte locations around campus, of which there are a lot. Especially at lunch, if you’re going to stay on Central Campus and not go over to North or West, the majority of food locations there are a la carte and only accept BRBs. </p>
<p>I had 14 my first year, generally had 3 meals per day, and still had meals leftover - in truth, I probably would’ve been fine with 10. I’d encourage you to start with a lower number, and then if you want more you can upgrade at any time (but after a while, you cannot downgrade).</p>
<p>@Saugus - for BRB places, Trillium and Statler are generally pretty good with cooked food…and I’m pretty partial to Goldie’s sandwiches. Are there certain dining halls you like over BRB places?</p>
<p>@SMRSMR- West Campus meal plans mean that you get unlimited meals in any of the West Campus houses at any time (except during house dinner, which is 1 time per week, when you can only eat at your own house for the 1st hour of dinner). You also get 50 swipes for other all you can eat dining halls around campus. All West Campus meal plans have unlimited meals, and only differ in BRBs, which are like dining debit dollars, which you can use at a lot of non-dining hall campus eateries. I believe if you run out of BRBs, you can also add more to your account later.</p>
<p>^^
I’m in Arts, so it’s out of my way to go to Trillium and Statler. </p>
<p>Trillium? The lines for wraps are often ludicrously long and the burgers are no better than Appel. Same for Terrace.</p>
<p>Goldie’s sandwiches are too small and there aren’t that many options.</p>
<p>I like Trillium and Ivy Room. Also, people seem to forget you can buy dining hall meals with BRBs, so if you are on the 7-meal plan and want an 8th meal in the week, you can pay for that with BRBs. My friend did the math and supposedly the BRB cost of a dining hall meal isn’t all that different from the price built into the meal plan.</p>
<p>I was curious so I did some quick and dirty math. I subtracted the cost of BRB’s since they are used outside dining halls. For the unlimited plan, I assumed 3 meals per day in a dining hall because more is grossly unrealistic. In terms of # of “meal days” I just went with 16 weeks for a semester which if anything overestimates the days eating at a dining hall/on-campus so in reality, the costs per meal listed below should be higher (unless I’m missing something obvious). For example, that doesn’t really account for holidays, etc.</p>
<p>Unlimited: $8.40 per meal at dining hall (I guess you would ONLY be using BRBs for snacks in this case)
14 meals: $10.54
10 meals: $12.94
7 meals: $15.40</p>
<p>I forget the actual costs of paying for meals with BRB’s and I think it varies for lunch and dinner. I don’t think any meal at a dining hall is more than $14 and keep in mind my formula assumes pretty maximal usage of each meal plan and if anything, costs per meal should be higher. My point is, the meal plan is a huge rip-off and doesn’t actually save you money. You’d really have to have the unlimited plan AND manage to use 3 meals a day quite consistently to even approach a benefit versus paying out of pocket (for most people). If it’s possible to not have a meal plan and just invest in BRB’s, that would be the most fiscally responsible plan for most people I would guess.</p>
<p>^Mikey: Your numbers are around the correct ballpark, if memory serves from when I calculated last year (~~$14/meal for realistic usage of 10 meal plan).</p>
<p>However, as of Fall 2012 (all I could find online; I forget what Okenturd’s price wall said):</p>
<p>"Just to clarify something, the cash door price is not $16 per meal. The cash price in the All-You-Care-To-Eat dining halls ranges from $4.45 for breakfast at 104 West! to $12 for dinner in the West Campus Houses. Lunch is $6.95 at Okenshields, $7.75, on West Campus, and $9.95 at North Star (tax included). And they’re even less expensive when using Big Red Bucks. "</p>
<p>Yes, meal plans are THAT substantial of a ripoff. If you’re living off campus, I do recommend the BRB package (schedule dependent), and using your BRBs if you go to eat on campus. Both the freshman and upperclassman meal plans are a complete waste of money.</p>
<p>Another big hint: If you’re on West and forced to get their awful meal plan, the “50 meals away from West” thing is a bluff. You’re unlimited everywhere. Yes, if you wanted your fill of Asian food from Appel, or Mongolian Bar from RPCC, you’re unlimited. Even if you wanted to eat at Oken (<em>shudder</em>), you’re still unlimited.</p>
<p>@Azn, are you actually unlimited on the west campus plan? how does that work?</p>
<p>If you do the math, paying for your meals with BRBs is the cheapest option (provided that you don’t eat 14+ meals per week, which is highly unlikely). Try to avoid the meal plan if possible - if you can’t, you could try getting one of the a la carte (BRBs) only meal plans.</p>
<p>Yes, that was the point I was trying to make with my math. And as I said, those numbers should UNDERESTIMATE the cost per meal with a meal plan. Go a few weeks without maximum usage (8-9 meals instead of the full 10 if that’s your meal plan) and the cost per meal is even higher. Paying for meals with BRB’s is not a problem and you can always add more BRB’s to your account. Unfortunately if you are on West, you are locked into the bad meal plan.</p>
<p>Agree. My D started with 14 meal plans, downgraded to 10 this semester and still doesn’t use even half of them. BRB are really helpful and easy to refill.</p>