<p>It looks like freshmen have a choice of several plans. If you get the 20-meal plan, can you use the third meal of the day to go to a cafe that accepts meal credit even if it is late at night? At that cafe/shop do you have to get an actual meal like a burger or can you just buy snacks with your meal credit? Does the 20 meal plan tend to work better for freshmen than the flex plans?</p>
<p>Any advice is appreciated.</p>
<p>My daughter did the flex plan her first year because it was just that, flexible. It worked best for her, and she felt it was the right plan. I do believe, though, that she had many left over meals each semester. Consequently, in the following years she has been on the reduced plan and has bought extra points as needed. Sorry, I don’t know the answers to your more specific questions. Someone else will answer those soon, I am sure.</p>
<p>On the 20-meal plan, you are permitted up to 2 of those meals at a cafe (there or to go) a day. I want to say that’s the case for all plans, but I’m not 100% certain. I’ve used my 3rd meal in a day at 1 AM at the Gate or Jo’s before without any problems. You can buy anything that adds up to $6 (if you spend more, you need to cover the difference somehow, whether with a second meal credit, some points, cash, declining balance, etc. The flex plans are fine provided that you pay attention to the number of meals and points you have left. There’s more flexibility, but also more of a chance to end up mooching meals off of your friends for the final few weeks in April or to suddenly have a hundred meals left at this point in the year with no realistic chance of eating that much. The former is of course more of a concern. If you plan to eat on a mostly regular schedule, I’d recommend the 14 or 20 meal a week plans as a freshman, because it’s one less thing to think about. If you can handle keeping track of the amount you have left, though, the added flexibility of Flex 460 would be nice.</p>
<p>What it really comes down to, IMO, is the cost per meal is much, much lower on the 20 meal per week plan and the flexibility is not drastically different if you eat on campus 2 times a day (use the third swipe to grab snacks/gatorade/whatever if you’re not eating it).</p>
<p>If you’re money-conscious and devoutly spend your 3 meal credits a day AND/OR you have an appetite that does well on 3 meals a day, the 20 meal per week is the way to go! It’s the “most for your money”… unless, of course, you don’t make the effort to spend your 3 meal credits a day and you end up wasting them. :</p>
<p>If you’re not sure you’re going to be eating in dining halls/eateries every day, the Flex Plan is the way to go… I like the Flex Plan because I don’t feel like I’m losing credits when I only eat at the dining halls once during the day.</p>
<p>Keep in mind:
<p>Here is what my son is thinking - he probably will eat in one of the dining halls for lunch and dinner. Then for a late night snack he would go to the Gate or Jo’s (as Uroogla does :)). I wasn’t sure if you could buy $6 worth of snacks, though, of if it had to be a “meal,” but it sounds like it can be anything. I think the 20 meal plan looks much more cost effective than the 14 for someone like my son who plans to eat three times/day. It’s just not that much more.</p>
<p>What is the advantage of the flex plans? Is it that you can eat at different places instead of the dining halls?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>No advantage if you’re in the dining halls consistently twice a day.</p>
<p>Your son’s appetite sounds like a 20-meals/week-er to me.</p>
<p>Some places (library carts mainly so it doesn’t really matter) are a little more selective about taking points over meal credits, but you’ll be getting much more food in exchange for having so many meal credits.</p>
<p>I’ve found the points provided with the 20 meals/week plan to be more than sufficient, even for snacking and use at the library carts. In an absolute worst case scenario, it’s possible to purchase more points, and one can change after fall term if the plan one signs up for is not what one was looking for.</p>
<p>I have over 200 points left…</p>
<p>Oops.</p>
<hr>
<p>I’m on the biggest Flex, and my remaining meal credits are right on track for the remaining time left this semester. Other than my leftover points, it’s been working well for me. I guess I just don’t use the points much, since when I go to the Gate or Jo’s I end up spending a credit. Note: I do breakfast in my room. And I’m working on whittling those points down. I can get milk! Still, I’m definitely moving down to a smaller plan next year. Probably should have done that this semester.</p>
<p>I just can’t justify moving down to a smaller plan. It’s so many fewer meals for such a small cost difference. That being said, I make sure to use as many of my points as possible at Little Jo’s buying detergent, shaving cream (but not their razors… they’re the worst around), etc. I believe my best is going three weeks without using cash.</p>
<p>I eat at the dining halls two times a day, and go to the cafes and spend at least one (now two) credits every other day or so. The thing is, weekends I tend to only eat once or twice a day, as I spend a lot more time sleeping, and I’m off campus once or twice a month. If you’re not going to be pretty regular at the dining halls, flex seems to work better.</p>