<p>Any advice about which meal plan makes sense for a freshman? We are trying to figure out if she should get the 19 0r 14 meal plan. I cannot find a good explanation of flex points, what it buys you, where you can use them and how many you use per meal. (one plan gives you 105 and another gives you 40 - how many meals would 105 versus 40 cover?)</p>
<p>You can use flex points at a few different grab-‘n’-go food stops on campus – Decafe (mini grocery in the campus center that also does made-to-order sandwiches and salads), the science center cart, and Azariah’s (the coffee shop in the library) are the main ones. One flex point equals one dollar, and the cost of a meal depends what you’re buying: for example, for five flex points you can get a sandwich at Decafe that will get you through one lunch, or a box of instant oatmeal that will cover all your breakfasts for two weeks.</p>
<p>Some things to think about when you’re weighing the benefits of more flex points vs. more meals: Is she likely to go to the dining hall for breakfast each morning, eat some cereal in her room, or sleep through it? Will she have time to sit down for lunch and dinner every day, or will she be grabbing a wrap from the science center cart while running from lab to rehearsal? When she’s in the mood for an evening study break, will she want to go to fourth meal at Dascomb dining hall, or head to Decafe and get a bag of pita chips? It can be hard to estimate before she gets to campus, without knowing what her schedule will be like – but at least as I understand it, it’s not hard to switch from one plan to another during the semester.</p>
<p>I’ve been in co-ops all along so I can’t give you any personal advice, but I know there are other parents on the board who’ve had the same question in years past…</p>
<p>D just finished her freshman year. She started on the 19 meal plan but switched to the 14 meal plan second semester because most days,as quare said, she didn’t have time for three cafeteria meals. Plus she would up eat in town occasionally, or she and her friends would cook in the dorm kitchen.</p>