<p>Our BC Frosh informed us that she has between $1500 and $2000 of meal $ left on her dining account. </p>
<p>This $ cannot be “rolled over” for next year. In other words, use it or lose it. I won’t go into the equities of the school requiring such an expensive (ONE SIZE FITS ALL) meal plan for those who have campus housing but I am interested in hearing from current upperclassmen and other experienced parents on what can be done. </p>
<p>Does anyone fill their cars with bottled waters, smart waters, Razzles and the like? Do they invite their High School age brother and his Crew team to campus for a “white tornado” dining session?</p>
<p>Or as a final altruistic thought, has anyone ever thought of collecting all of this extra meal $ and using it for a BC Sponsored event to feed the homeless or the less fortunate at an end of year cookout or dinner on campus?</p>
<p>I like all of those ideas! My husband is the most “frugal” man alive (and by frugal, I mean cheap) and there is NO way in god’s green earth he would let $2000 American dollars just go poof.</p>
<p>Dear marbles44 : The question to be asked is why should there be $1500-$2000 remaining on your child’s dining plan. The “daily plan” offered at the BC Dining Halls is typically referred to as the 6/7/8 plan - $6 for breakfast, $7 for lunch, $8 for dinner. So, let’s assume $20 per day in just standard meal spend.</p>
<p>With 15 weeks on campus (assuming that your child does not arrive early or stay extra towards the end of the semester) that works out to 105 days. This easily accounts for $2000 per semester. Now, admittedly, not every meal is taken at the dining hall; then again, not every meal fits this exact pricing.</p>
<p>Our point is that $1500-$2000 remaining on a meal plan with three weeks remaining (including finals) is really high. How often is your daughter using her meal plan? You can ask to have a log of meal plan spending printed out just to double check on this.</p>
<p>Scottj: she obviously isn’t eating 3 squares a day on campus. That is not really the issue. The issue is that if you don’t use the full amount you are charged and paid, then why can’t you roll it over, or at least a percentage of it over for next year? why can’t you convert the $ or a portion of the $ to Eagle Bucks? Rather than being required to purchase a one size fits all $4800 meal plan, why doesn’t the school provide other options or even a “pay as you go meal plan”. I am correct that if you live in campus housing, you must purchase a meal plan am I not? </p>
<p>While others may not have as much unused meal $, I have to imagine that the tally at the end of the year for all Students is substantial. With the cost of attendance as much as it is, it would be nice to have some options for those who don’t possess the appetites of a defensive lineman.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, she/we love BC, but this is an issue that should be rectified! thanks</p>
<p>When my D was a freshman, she lived on Newton campus and she ended up paying for many a law student’s lunch to use up her money. She also brought home a ton of food that she purchased at the end of the year. I do wish that BC would institute a tier meal plan. My D never used up the money on her meal plan, while she frequently mentioned boys who used theirs up quickly and how many girls supplemented them.</p>
<p>I believe that you are only required to purchase a meal plan depending on the dorm you live in. Some of the dorms are apartment-style, so no meal plan is required.</p>
<p>Another way to look at it however, is that if everyone did NOT fill up their cars for the drive home, Food Services would wake up to the fact that their average meal plan is larger than need-be. Thus, they could lower the price and allotment for future Frosh.</p>
<p>But as always, ScottJ raises a good point. If the semester plan is ~$2300 of value, and your kiddo has ~$2000 left over, what/when is she actually eating? Mostly off-campus? (Bananas and apples are a dollar apiece in Food Services.)</p>
<p>IMO the meal program is reasonable. Meal plan is not like shopping when you buy whatever you want and pay the due amount. When your D paid BC the room and board fee BC guaranteed her every meal during the semester. So they cook for her whether she comes or not. Take an analogy of ordering hotel rooms. If someone wants to cancel the reservation she had some percentage of her money would be forfeited. Same to the meal plan. The only difference is a hotel room could be used then by others but how the meal that was prepared and your D didn’t have ends up? I guess wasted. But BC won’t buy for it because they just did what you suggested them to do when you paid them the meal plan fee.</p>
<p>It seems the fault is BC’s but actually no one is to blame. But I do agree there should be a change on this policy, after research among BC students. Yet the change is not so easy like BC would give up the forfeit because they certainly wouldn’t buy for the meals that students don’t come for.</p>
<p>I suspect the fixed cost non-refundable attribute of the plan is related to planning for predictable food service over the year. Unless we hear from someone on the planning side, it’s difficult for us to be judgmental. </p>
<p>I don’t know how many other schools have this policy, but I do know that BC is definitely not alone.</p>
<p>If your daughter has almost $2000 left over, does that mean she was consciously spending her own pocket money on food elsewhere during the year? I’m curious how else someone would have that much remaining.</p>
<p>She could help out some frosh boys on campus. My son has 150.00 left to take him to the end of the year. Most male students are starving by the end of semester!! HAHA</p>
<p>Dd only had a about $40 left on her flex so she treated her team mates to a get together last semester. I can tell you if she had that kind of money she would be swiping people in to eat and getting what non perishables she could get for herself or a food bank. I hounded her so much last semest that I am sure she is spending all the money on the account or be hitting up the college food store the last week.</p>
<p>For the record…it’s not just girls that need an alternative plan. My S has more than $1000 left on his. He loves the food and seems to eat very well.</p>
<p>But all they have to do is sit and watch the registers during finals week and look at the purchases on their computer tapes. I was shocked when I picked up my D and saw parents swiping in and literally loading up the car with non-perishables for the drive home: cases of water, chips, soda, etc. It doesn’t take a CSOM analyst to know with certainty that the student who just purchased 5 cases of water/soda/chips is not going on a college-sponsored desert safari on the last day of finals. (They might be staying over the summer in The Mods and stocking up, however, so they don’t have to spend their own summer money for food.)</p>
<p>Such blatant activity raises the costs for all; and BC being a Jesuit College…hmmmmm</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The issue is that the spinmeisters have the gall to claim most students use their $$ allotment, so the numbers are reasonable. Well sure, they use up their money stocking their parent’s basement for the summer!</p>
<p>btw: $2300 doesn’t go very far for D1 athletes who have to eat 3000 calories a day just to maintain wait. :D</p>
<p>My DD when a student always had $ more than $500 leftover on the dining plan…she treated friends who had run out and her Dad would always get at least 2 meals in when he drove her there/picked her up…there are charity donations, and she brough home lots of yougurts expensive bottled juices…ie ondwella and the like… we/she had no qualms or fear of committing sins as we had already piad for these goods…</p>
<p>But the real question is whether that practice is moral? </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Consider all of the students who paid the same and had money left over but could not back a truck up to McElroy to stock the summer beach home.</p></li>
<li><p>Consider all of the students on financial aid, where even a couple of hundred dollars in lower R&B can make a huge difference to the family.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I must confess I have never heard of a university meal plan where you could treat it like a grocery store at the end of the term and haul out the contents of the shelves in your recyclable BC Bags. Most (rational) universities these days have tiered systems. You can start with the lowest amount, if you wish (instead of the Cadillac plan) and then add $$$ if you need to. It thereby eliminates this level of fiscal loss for students and provides a recognition of tight finances for families and some savings for the students (and increasingly broke) parents.</p>
<p>My daughter is in the same situation - to the tune of almost $1200. She had $700 left last semester. So would have had to spend almost over $3000 this semester to use up her allowance. (And yes, she is eating. She is just a petite girl - 5 feet, 105 lbs.- and doesn’t eat nearly what others might.) We’ve tried many of the suggestions - treating others, having a group dinner with one of her dance groups, bringing extras back to the room for snacks to share, etc. etc. Now, I will be one of those parents who ‘buys’ extra water and other non-perishables. I see no reason to let the money that I’ve spent revert to the university. I’ll use the stuff over the summer to donate, help out our local town sports teams etc. And I’ve also communicated with the director of the dining services how much I dislike being put in this position. They know it’s a problem. In fact, they joked about it at the parent orientation. I love BC and my daughter has had a wonderful experience there this year but this is ‘robbing’ the parents and needs to be changed to a tiered system!</p>
<p>In addition to all the previous options mentioned (paying for others, loading up at the end of the year, etc.), there WILL be Campus Ministry groups asking for dining dollars starting in the near future. These groups are actually out intermittently during the entire school year, but they will be far more frequent as the semester winds down. If you want to help out their charity trip/organization, or simply get rid of some of your meal plan money, this is always an option, and a much more appreciated one than stocking up on chips and SmartWater.</p>
<p>Blue Bayou…No truck needed for those waters/yogurts/juices…no summer home cant afford it after paying full COA at BC…no financial aid tho we are not wealthy…uniformed civil service and RN serving others…In fact we had to work extra hours, extra jobs to pay for BC which I would hope other parents whose children received fin aide, sacrificed as did we</p>