Can anyone explain how the meal plans work at IU?
In typical Indiana fashion it’s more complicated than it needs to be. Basically, they take the overhead costs of the program right off the top. Then you get a 60% discount on the food. So a $10 meal costs $4. Or something like that.
All you really need to know is get the smallest available plan because there is no benefit of the larger ones. If you end up eating more than the smallest plan allows, you can very easily add money to your account. It is likely the standard plan will be enough, but even if you knew you would eat more than the standard plan, it still doesn’t make sense to get a bigger one.
The 60% “discount” on the meal plan that yourmomma mentioned is basically designed to deceive people. Essentially, the money you pay for the plan is converted into I-Bucks. 1 I-Buck is worth $2.50. So the $10 meal from the post above would cost 4 I-Bucks after the 60% “discount”. But in reality, the meal still costs $10 because I-Bucks are worth $2.50 each. They just show you the price in I-Bucks to essentially trick you into thinking you are paying less than the total cost, but in fact, you are paying the total cost.
This can get pretty confusing, so let me know if you have any other questions or if I should re-explain anything in this post
If you’re a light eater and your family is far away or they don’t like college food it can be a problem. Thankfully we (the parents) ate at IU a lot more than we should 
so we were able to eat at the balance of I-Bucks… Some of our student’s friends did have to add extra I-Bucks but they spent a lot at the C-store as we were told. The food is good - esp at library, Collins, and Forest (my favorite).
Overall, it’s what @iubaccounting indicated. Expensive and tricky. Pick your venue and at least the food is good. It would be nice if IU offered a lower cost freshman plan…
If I pick the smallest meal plan and need more, should I reload I-Bucks or is there another option? And where do they work?