<p>I'm just confused about the whole dining dollars/flex account.... I understand that the freshman meal plans are all $2,085 per term; does that mean that you can divide that money between dining dollars and flex? Or is Flex only activated if you put additional money onto that account above and beyond the 2,085 you are already paying for that term?? I don't know if this makes any sense.. basically can someone just explain how you use flex and dining dollars? Thanks</p>
<p>the meal plans give you an allotted number of meals and froshie dining points (they may have changed it, but i think these are separate from dinning dollars). the meals can be used at john jay, a buffet style troth, located on the ground floor of the dorm john jay hall.the (froshie) dinning points can be used to purchase food items at other on-campus dinning locations, such as jj’s and ferris booth, which sell individual food items rather than buffet meals. flex points can be used at a lot more places (although they can be used just the same as dinning @ places that accept dinning, just there’s tax on flex and not on dinning). as of last year, you can also use flex at off-campus locations such as westside market, nussbaum & wu, and university hardware/houseware.</p>
<p>I think starting next year, first-year points will become dining dollars. </p>
<p>Anyway, as metsfan explained, for each meal plan, you get a certain number of meals and points. (For your sanity, you should get the one with the most points and fewest meals.) You don’t get any flex money from meal plans. You will have to pay extra for that.</p>
<p>You’re also allowed to use flex at on-campus vending machines and in the laundry room (very useful because you won’t have to hoard quarters).</p>