<p>Keep in mind that Panther funds are needed for laundry machines in Pitt dorms. You may not want to keep a lot of money in that account, but you will probably need to fund that account with some money.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if meal plans are required? I was planning on going in without a meal plan and just using a credit card for food…It seems like I’ll be wasting money no matter which tier meal plan I choose. I have spoken with a Pitt peer advisor, who said meal plans aren’t required, but the website states otherwise. So I just wanted to clear it up…</p>
<p>In the on-campus apartments, my daughter was charged about $300 for a minimal plan each semester, so we have the impression that one is required. </p>
<p>I think that for the first semester you might get a plan, paperclipmoose, just because you will meet lots of people and want to eat with them to bond, so to speak. After the first semester, you will have a better idea of what you need.</p>
<p>As far as I know, freshmen living in the dorms are required to have a meal plan.</p>
<p>I believe if you live in the dorms, a meal plan is required. I would call/email Panther Central.</p>
<p>^^^That (the first statement, I mean).</p>
<p>Robinsongirl, if I were you I’d definitely go with 75 passes. If she plans on eating dinner in Market with friends (which most of us freshmen ended up doing quite a bit last year,) 50 meal passes will leave her hanging. I ate at Market quite a bit and ended up using about 80 last semester. And first semester I definitely used more than a hundred. And I even ate quite a bit outside of Market.</p>
<p>It’s easier to deal with running out of dining dollars than running out of meal passes.</p>
<p>I definitely over bought my first semester (125 passes and $300 ish DD maybe?). I had like 20-25 extra passes and a few extra dollars at the end of semester 1. Semester 2 dropped down to 50 passes and $900 DD. It was perfect, I ran out of passes and ended with maybe $3-4 DD left on my card.</p>
<p>My advice (and like many have said): Whatever you calculate how you eat, it’s an over estimate. I always thought “2 meals a dayx5 days = 10 meals a week” for the passes, but it’s not the case. There’s much more variety with the DD than with passes. (Passes only get you to the cafeteria-style buffet eating, either in Towers at Market Central, or in Sutherland at the Perch). However DD can be used at lots of additional places for a quick snack or more personalized meal (Einstein Bagels; Schenley Cafe: Pizza Hut, Salad Bar, Strutters, Smoothies, Sub Connection; The Pete: Burger King, Smoothie Place, Pasta Place; Cathedral Cafe: Chik-Fil-A, Sushi, Grill, Salad; Quickzone: Frozen food, salad bar, snacks, drinks, etc.).</p>
<p>From my experience, you’re going to get really tired of Market Central really fast. (Although, for anyone who notices they have a lot of passes near the end of the semester, I highly recommend Market Central for breakfast, (which is I think 7 or 8 to 10:30am), the food is really good, there’s never a big crowd, and it’s an easy way to use a pass and not be hungry!)</p>
<p>So at this point if you want to change your plan can you do so before the semester begins or do you have to wait until the 2-week grace period after classes start?</p>
<p>Definitely get Tier 3 with the 50 passes and like 915 dining dollars or whatever. Dining dollars are much more versatile in that you can go to the union, cathedral, towers or whatever on campus while passes pretty much restrict you to the perch or market, which gets old fast. I had trouble finishing my dining passes and dining dollars last year even though I had the lowest one.</p>
<p>Hi - as a new PITT mom, I am seeking advice on the best way to track usage of the Meal Plan swipes…I see that parents and students can download a Dining Dollars usage report at Panther Central…but is the only way to track how many swipes remaining on a Meal Plan at the point of purchase? We bought a mid-level plan, and want to make sure our son is fully using what is available.</p>
<p>Appreciate any advice - thanks!</p>
<p>I think your son has a way to find out how many passes remain on his plan when he visits the dining hall- I’d just ask him to check for you.</p>
<p>My daughter loves all the cheap spots on campus to get Indian food (she lives in Forbes). How many times a week can you eat spicy Indian food? Guess I’m about to find out.</p>
<p>Never found a way on the Pitt website to get any info. Daughter ended both freshman semesters just about using midddle plan up. Daughter lived in Forbes and enjoyed many lunches on Forbes Avenue though. We had guessed that that would be the case and so only purchased the mid-level.</p>
<p>When the dining hall cashiers, swipe your card the number if passes you have left is briefly displayed where the price or change would be shown, and if they give you a receipt it will say how many passes you have left. If you used dining dollars, the receipt will say how many of those you have left.</p>
<p>Passes are a waste of money: First of all there is no way to tell in the panther
usage center how many Passes are even being used they only show Panther funds, your money that you deposited and Dining dollars I was told there is no way to keep track of dining Passes being used by the school and if you don’t tell Market central specifically to take it out of the passes part of the panther card they can take it out of the dining dollars side of it instead. To me this sounds like all your dining dollars and panther funds part of the card gets used first and thats why kids are left with so many passes at the end of the semester because they not being accepted properly by a cafeteria cashier that doesn’t care what part of your cards funds are being used. I can’t believe some of the financial students at Pitt don’t address this issue and I’m just an average joe that figured this out.
For Pitt to say they can’t keep track of Food Pass usage and only dining dollar and Panther fund usage sounds very underhanded and sly. It’s a school of science yet they can’t figure out this simple flaw in the Panther card system I would always suggest get the smallest passes
the smallest of dining dollars and send money in another way to your child until Pitt figures out a way to smooth this bump in the system.
they must think we are all stupid to think they can hide this fact.As a parent that pays for my childs education I take it personally</p>
<p>You have to go to mypitt use password and email name then click on Panther central after it goes through click on dining not housing . Then click Panther funds usage report and it will show the usage of Panther funds (extra cash) or dining dollars( to be used in or outside of market central) but not Dining Pass Usage which Pitt claims they cannot keep
track of .There is a name given on the website that you can contact through Market central a lady is in charge. If you have a complaint. Personally i think everyone should be complaining about such a lame system.
Another thing is if your child has late classes and hasn’t eaten till like 8:30 or so the only thing they can really eat good that late at the cafeterias is like a waffle they make themselves. Everything else is old and dried up and the Pizza lady retires way before closing Oh she’s there but the pizza’s are not. Whose gonna ask before closing… will you make me a pizza Pizza lady. They should at least have a pizza sitting out for a quick meal. Talk to your child. Find out where your moneys going or not going. Oh yeah and I figured its 13 dollars a meal that’s an expensive waffle … Sept 2012</p>