So I was looking at the Miami Meal Plan and I was questioning whether it was worth it to get it.
The meal plan gives a 30% discount at all Miami Restaurants, but the catch is you have to pay the $1,725 meal plan assessment fee. So let’s say I eat $1,500 Diplomat Dollars worth of food per semester.
With the meal plan total cost = 1500 + 1725 = $3225
Without Meal Plan = (10/7) * 1500 (no 30% discount) = $2142.86
Seems like it would be in my best interest to not get a meal plan and just pay in cash. Are there any other benefits to the meal plan that may be worth spending an extra 1k?
60% off at buffet locations
30% off at à la carte locations and markets
But I agree, this meal plan is really confusing and choosing which level to purchase is tough for us first years. Guess what we don’t know is how much is a typical meal (either before or after discount)? $5, $10?
I can tell you that the average price of meals at the restaurants in the Armstrong Student Center will set you back around 7-9 bucks a meal. There you can find a Chipotle-like place, a pizza place that delivers, a Panera-like sandwich and bakery place (great cinnamon rolls for about $2), a 50’s-style diner/burger joint (both this and the bakery have breakfast stuff in the $3-7 range), a Starbucks/ice cream stand, and my personal favorite, a Mongolian stir fry grill. Those are the non-discounted prices. The student center is a really nice facility, by the way. My son does PSEO classes on the Oxford campus and I frequently park myself in Armstrong to work while I’m waiting for him.
@finselmom Do you still get the 30% discount at all restaurants in the Armstrong Student Center? On Miami’s website, it says there is a 30% discount at à la carte locations and markets, but it describes the diner that you mentioned as “restaurant style”.
I’m afraid I’m not sure of that. I know that students do use their cards with the meal plan information on it, but I don’t know the details of how the system deals with that because we’re not on the meal plan. I’m pretty sure students get at least some kind of a discount, given the numbers of people I see eating there. Miami takes its food pretty seriously – they even have their own food truck that roams the campus frequently!
Fortunately, there are lots of options and the food is good when compared to other colleges or a high school cafeteria. In addition to the required assessment fee, I placed the full $1800 on my daughter’s account for her first semester. She used a bit under a $1000 of it during Fall semester. Since what you don’t use each semester carries over to the next semester, I placed a lot less into her account. Still have to pay the full assessment fee each semester, however. Once you move off campus, I believe you can continue to spend down your balance or have it moved to your student debit account (called MuLAA), so there should never be a point you lose the meal money you put in.
To answer @tdk992, all of the Armstrong Center restaurants get the 30% discount.