<p>Okay so I know that certain dorms require having a meal plan, let's start with the assumption that I can choose to buy one or not. The only meal plan I would get would be the unlimited one that is $2000. If we assume that I would have about 120 days of 3 meals a day, assuming I ate every meal it would work out to about $5.55 per meal. Now, obviously there will be times when I'm not going to eat at the dining hall so that would drive the cost per meal up. A lot of times I don't really eat breakfast or I just like having a pop tart or something small. Theoretically wouldn't it make more sense to just set aside the $2000 dollars and combine eating at the food places on campus like chick fil a (which in my opinion would probably be a lot better than the dining hall food). I'm pretty good with dealing with a budget so I wouldn't blow through it and spend it on non essentials. I think approximately $500 a month just for food is plenty. Am I missing something or is a meal plan just plain not worth it?</p>
<p>Completely not worth it. If you’re good with saving money, put the money back and eat when you want, where you want. If you rarely eat breakfast, you’ll have more money for another meal that is healthier than ChikFilA three times a day. :)</p>
<p>Thanks! Do you go to FSU now? And yeah I couldn’t think of what else was up on campus (That and I have a chick fil a problem) but I would definitely try to be healthy most of the time and get the variety.</p>
<p>do you know what the other meal plans are?</p>
<p>Yeah, they all offer different amounts, like there’s a Monday through Friday all you can eat, and a 14 meal a week plan, but besides the unlimited plan the cost per meal just goes up as you buy less, so it’s hardly worth it.</p>
<p>The meal plans tend to change every year, at least in some way. They completely overhauled the meal plan offerings about 2 or 3 years ago, and in my opinion made them worse. The only “benefit” the new plans have is that you can sometimes use a meal at a restaurant on campus (such as Denny’s or Subway)… except that the limitations on that is often that the meal is about $6- when meals at the dining facilities have a retail value up to $10 (they also changed prices at the halls in recent years, I have no idea what the new rates are). </p>
<p>If you don’t have to get a meal plan, I cannot stress this enough: DON’T. If you find out that you can’t survive without a meal plan after the fall semester, you can get one during Spring. Unless they changed the contract (which I doubt), if you buy a meal plan for fall, you automatically have to buy a meal plan for Spring. </p>
<p>You can always order Garnet Bucks instead of a meal plan. They’re essentially cash to use at places on campus, but sometimes Seminole Dining will offer specials where you get a bonus on top of whatever you purchase… and Garnet Bucks are good until you graduate (whereas meals from a meal plan expire at the end of each semester and Flexbucks expire at the end of the year). </p>
<p>Instead of a meal plan, setting aside a couple hundred bucks a month (even at $500/month, you likely end up breaking even at worst), for eating. Your cash is good everywhere, not just at campus restaurants.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, Seminole Dining are the same people that, a couple years ago, offered two separate meal plans, with one being $200 more than the other. The only difference between the two plans? The one that was $200 more expensive included more Flexbucks… at a $1 per 1 Flexbuck ratio, which is completely pointless (why not just pay cash?). </p>
<p>There used to be someone here that analyzed the meal plan offerings every year and attempted to warn new students about them. I’m pretty sure he graduated though.</p>
<p>Thanks Pasbal, I’m going to try to get high enough housing priority to where I won’t have to get a meal plan. Actually there are now 3 unlimited options and the only difference is the number of flex bucks, dollar for dollar.</p>
<p>Wildwood, DeGraff, and Salley are all suite-style dorms that don’t require a meal plan (plus, there’s always the community-style dorms). Between them there’s almost 2000 spots in housing available in the three buildings. </p>
<p>I forget how Housing does it for incoming freshmen anymore (or whether they will change things again this year), but as long as you have a priority number of 2500 or less and pick those as your top 3 choices, you’ll probably be fine.</p>