<p>on the mcgill housing fees page it says that only rvc, which has a nb next to it does not include the meal plan in the rent but on the fees section of this page, Fees</a> & payment | Food and Dining Services - McGill University it says that meal plan fees are not included, </p>
<p>i would want to live on first on campus first year but if i have to pay ~1000 a month even for a doubles and 5000 a year for food i think i will i just live off campus since i can just get a singles for 700 a month off campus and i only use about 300 a month at most for food whereas the meal plan is 650 a month for the regular plan, so is there any significant advantages for living in residence besides social?</p>
<p>Basically, no. </p>
<p>There is a reason why everyone leaves rez after the first year. Rent is significantly cheaper off-campus (as much as 50 percent less than rez rent), and most people seem to spend about a third less by buying groceries rather than going to the caf. (meal plans are never included in the rent; some rezzes will make a meal plan mandatory.)</p>
<p>People enter residences for the experience (and it is a great experience.) But if your primary concern is cost, then off-campus is your best bet.</p>
<p>People leave rez after 1st year because only 1st years can be in rez, not because of cost.</p>
<p>^ Absolutely, unequivocally false, considering that my residence last year had a second-year student. He stayed in a different residence for his first year. McGill residences have a retention rate of 5 percent, so if you actually stayed in one, or got to know the one you stayed in a little better, chances are you would have known at least one person who had been at McGill the year previous.</p>
<p>There are exceptions sure. But from what I know, most 1st years have to leave rez to make room for the new 1st years</p>
<p>^ That contradicts what you said earlier, which is exactly my point. </p>
<p>Making categorical statements, particularly when they’re not true, doesn’t help anyone.</p>
<p>How does it contradict? I repeated the same idea, but in a different manner. Look I might have misunderstood the concept when I read about it. The way I understood it is: after your first year, you can no longer live in rez. There’s no need to get angry…</p>
<p>“Only 1st years can be in rez” =/= “***from what I know, most ***1st years have to leave.” And if you think that’s saying the same thing, then I don’t know what else to tell you =S </p>
<p>To clarify: there is no requirement that you must leave rez after the first year. But the vast majority of students do because of significantly reduced costs associated with living off-campus. And to reiterate: if the OP’s primary concern is with costs, then she/he should choose off-campus living.</p>
<p>Well, what I meant by that was that only 1st years can be in rez, but some exceptions apply. That’s why I changed it to most. Whatever helps you sleep at night…</p>
<p>I love how you keep coming back to derail the thread instead of taking it on the chin, and I’m sure the OP loves it too. Unless you have something to say about meal plans and the cost of them, you can go twist yourself in logical contradictions on your own time.</p>
<p>I don’t get why you’re so mad at a simple mistake. Jeez take it easy. I accept that what I said might be wrong/contradictory, but there’s no need to use that tone. What is your major?</p>
<p>Hi, um starting at mcgill this september. I’ve checked some of the meal plan stuff, but I can’t find anything that says that you can get a meal plan for less than about 5k … isn’t that way way too expensive? What other alternatives are there? The voluntary and commuter meal plans, are they open to students living on campus? They’re much cheaper</p>
<p>whether I take meal plan or not depends on which residence I get into. I know its a lot cheaper buying my own food but I just feel that the first year at a new place may be rough</p>
<p>I’ve checked all the pages, but almost all the residences, except Solin Hall, have mandatory meal plans worth 4900 at least! And Solin Hall doesn’t require one because it’s quite far from campus … so the 5k is almost a must!</p>
<p>hmm I didn’t even notice that when I checked the website. I guess I’ll take the $5200. I probably won’t use up all the money so that I’ll be able to use the remainder in my second year.</p>