<p>Those of you in college, what kind of meal plan did you buy? How many meals do you get a week? Do you wish you had bought a bigger/smaller plan and why?</p>
<p>I had an ‘apartment plan’ last semester which is aimed at commuters. It afforded me a full meal each day as well as a coffee each day, and I still had a hundred-something points left over.</p>
<p>That’s why I love my school. There’s no meal plan, you just put money in your account and spend it like normal money. You can even use normal money if you’d like but it’s more expensive. Food is super cheap too, it’s nice. And you can use food account money at the convenience stores in the cafeterias.</p>
<p>First term I had unlimited meals in the dining hall and less money…then I realized how far away the dining hall was, so I switched them around.</p>
<p>McDonald’s</p>
<p>Meal plan is required at my college. I opted for the “in between” plan which gives two meals a day. I think I need less then that because three weeks into school I stopped frequenting the cafeteria as much as I used to.</p>
<p>I also use a kind of system where you choose how much money is on your account and spend it like normal money. But our food is definitely not super cheap. Last year I had maybe $900 on my account but that was way too much. This year I picked a much cheaper plan, I think it’s maybe $300 or so because I plan on buying all my breakfast and lunch food at the store. It’s way better to pay $3 or $4 for one box of cereal that’ll last me two weeks instead of paying $4 for one breakfast that will last about five minutes 
It also gets really annoying to have to walk 10 minutes, stand in line 15 minutes, and pay $7 when all I want is a sandwich for lunch.</p>
<p>I had a 210 point meal plan. Basically one swipe gets you into the 4 different dining hall at RU. And at certain cafes around campus we can use meal swipes to get stuff like Mexican food, a meal at Uno, or just use it for candy/drinks and such at this mini convenience store. </p>
<p>Last semester I had about 35 meals left, it sucks because it’s the lowest a freshmen can have. Next year I’ll be living off-campus so I’ll probably get a meal plan in the ~100 range.</p>
<p>I had a 200 meal one last semester, but I had like 100 meals left in the last month and finished with like 30 because I just bought tons of people meals, so this semester I moved to the 150 meal plan.</p>
<p>My school has a point system, where 1 pt is equivalent to ~$1.50. All of options are food stations- we don’t have a one-swipe “meal.”</p>
<p>Mind you, the cost of buying with cash is MUCH cheaper (1pt = $1)… but you’re required to get a meal plan. If you run out of points, you can use tax-free cash, but I’ve never run out of points (even on the lowest plan, the off-campus one).</p>
<p>At my school, all residential students are placed on the 21-meals-per-week plan, which I like. Less confusing, and I’m glad that I don’t have to pick or choose.</p>
<p>Ours are either a 5 day or 7 day plan with unlimited usage.</p>
<p>My school requires all students who live on campus and not in the apartment dorm, to have an unlimited meal plan…im not a huge fan because i only eat in the dining halls once or twice a day, but its nice to not have to worry about running out of meals or anything</p>
<p>I love the meal plan at my school. The way my tuition works is, its basically a yearly payment that includes EVERYTHING you do on campus. “Tuition” at my school is academic fees, housing, meal plan, parking, and every little thing you would pay for during the year. Its like an upfront cost. We don’t get nickel and dime’d all year. </p>
<p>So that being said, our meal plan goes like this:</p>
<p>You pick 1 of 3 choices that are all “worth” the same as far as the tuition.</p>
<p>7 meals per week with a $250 declining balance (to be used anywhere on campus)
14 meals per week with a $150 DB
19 meals per week with a $50 DB.</p>
<p>With all 3 options, you have 7 “magic meals” that can be used during the week at the restaurants on campus, other than the cafeteria. (They count as one of the main meals though, not an extra 7) You can dine at our campus steakhouse once a week using a magic meal. </p>
<p>Gotta love it!</p>
<p>I have unlimited meals at the 2 dining halls and $150 of Flex Bucks, which can be used at any other restaurants on campus. Although its pretty expensive, its so convenient for me because I lived right next door by one of the dining halls and I dont have to worry about cooking, which I cant do :D.</p>