Meal Plans

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>As much as I am a connoisseur for fine foods, I'm trying to save money. Going to school in a city has manyyyy temptations and i don't have that much extra spending money. Plus, adding to the temption, i've heard that john jay dining hall food isn't spectacular...or in other words...it's just bad. </p>

<p>So my questions are...how is the food for first years? how much money do you actually spend on going out to restaurants per week?</p>

<p>and</p>

<p>Which is the best meal plan for first years? I've been hearing that the one with the most dining dollars is the best, but i was wondering how much will one dining dollar get you (i.e. how much is one dining dollar worth?)? And what's the difference between dining dollars, flex points, and columbia points? Thankss.</p>

2

<p>One dining dollar is supposed to equal one real dollar. How much are meals if you just buy them with cash?</p>

3

<p>i asked this question last year and never got a good response so here's a quick breakdown:</p>

<p>firstly, you dont get dining dollars, you get first year points. 2 different things (points arent refillable, dd are)</p>

<p>there are a few main places that accept points on campus, in no particular order:
JJ's Place: fried food and extremely overpriced groceries (think 10$ for bread and milk). good food tho. smoothies for 5$ (some people love them, some hate them). cheeseburger, chicken parm, grilled chicken sandwich, philly cheese steak: 5$, chicken fingers: 6$. fries/mozerella sticks: 2$. also drinks, ice cream, etc at regular NY prices</p>

<p>212: sandwiches that range from 5-6.50$. </p>

<p>ferris booth: sandwiches(5-6$), pizza(~2/slice), calzones(5), pasta(5), sushi(2-9), salads(3, small), etc...</p>

<p>carelton: sandwiches(~5), also a little buffet thing where price is based on weight, dunno price for this tho</p>

<p>any of the blue java's: coffee(2-4$), bagels/muffins/pastries(~1-3)</p>

<p>cafe east: bubble tea(3-5$), fried eel/dumplings<a href="%7E5-6$">really good</a></p>

<p>think that about covers it...</p>

4

<p>to answer the other questions: a meal at JJ is 12 or 13$ i think.</p>

<p>points/dd/flex: points are only available to first years and you can only use them on food in certain locations like the ones listed above (i think the only place that doesnt accept points is is uris tho i could be wrong) dining dollars are the same, except reloadable and available to everyone. flex can be used for anything. you can use flex in the bookstore, buying from vending machines, doing laundry, or buying food.</p>

<p>also, jj food isnt that bad. it has on days and off days. most people order chinese or get pizza or something if they really think the food on a certain day is bad</p>

5

<p>also, dining dollars and first-year points are paid for at the rate of $1 = 1 point, but you don't pay sales tax with points. so it's like saving 8.25%.</p>

6

<p>So which plan do you think is the best?</p>

7

<p>either the one with the most points, or the second one down (2nd most points, 2nd least meals). The dining hall is only open for two "meals" a day, so you'll find yourself needing points a lot. But the more meals you get, the better the $/meal price is, so if you expect to eat at the dining hall a lot, you'll get more value for your money. Brunch is excellent and if you have a routine you can go there almost every day for it, but students definitely get bored with the dinner offerings by 2nd semester.</p>

<p>You can also switch meal plans between semesters for, I believe, no fee (and for a nominal fee during the course of the semester).</p>

8

<p>seconded on the meal plan.</p>

<p>if you get the lowest meals/most points it works out to like 1 meal/day and like 5 points/day.</p>

<p>unfortunately, this is actually nearly impossible to do (see my brief listing of prices above) basically it means you'll have to supplement the meal plan with ramen/meals out/etc.</p>

9

<p>how much do you guys usually spend a week (money not in the meal plan) to go out, to go to restaurants, or order in food?</p>

10

<p>"if you get the lowest meals/most points it works out to like 1 meal/day and like 5 points/day."</p>

<p>Can I get another meal for 5 points?</p>

11

<p>I've heard to stay away from the meals, and get Plan 4 (least meals, most points). These are JJ's hours: Monday - Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m, which could be a problem if you've got class during that time, or you're the kind of person who eats dinner at 9.</p>

<p>5 points a day seems a little low considering prices, but instead of adding more points my parents are planning to give me the same amount in cash for food at the supermarket. A loaf of bread and some deli can make lunch for a week, and it's a lot cheaper. Morton Williams has bagels for ~$0.55.</p>

12

<p>What about meal plan 1? Does it work out to be 2 meals a day?</p>

13

<p>assume 15 weeks of school at 7 days = 105 days x 2meals = 210 are there 210 meals in the first plan? if so, that answers your question.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Can I get another meal for 5 points?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>no....a meal is ~12 dollars to buy like i said...i dont even know if you can spend points to get a meal tho...thats a good question...if you can tho, it would be 12 points, not 5.</p>

<p>
[quote]
how much do you guys usually spend a week (money not in the meal plan) to go out, to go to restaurants, or order in food?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>this all depends on you. i really dont know what to tell you. personally i tend to eat out once-twice a week and even then its usually at cheap places (less than 10$ for my meal). other people eat out 5-10 times a week and go to 20$/plate places...</p>

<p>the best thing i can say is that the dining hall food isnt as bad as people make it out to be. it just a step below yale (maybe 2 below cornell) and is miles above state schools and such.</p>

14

<p>Almost. It's 13.1 meals/week.</p>

<p>Oh, here are the meal plans:</p>

<p>210 meals 150 Points
185 meals 300 Points
150 meals 400 points
115 meals 500 points. </p>

<p>Now Denz, what was the other plan besides the bottom one?</p>

15

<p>I'm gonna work out a schedule which will allow me to go for meal plan 1. I'm probably just gonna eat in JJ dining hall all the time.</p>

16

<p>pearfire, meal plan 1 is a very bad idea....you need to keep in mind that you won't be able to eat in JJ twice a day everyday not to mention the food gets repetitive </p>

<p>
[quote]
You can also switch meal plans between semesters for, I believe, no fee (and for a nominal fee during the course of the semester).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>if i remember correctly there is a fee for switching plans no matter when you do it. </p>

<p>
[quote]
"if you get the lowest meals/most points it works out to like 1 meal/day and like 5 points/day."</p>

<p>Can I get another meal for 5 points?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>u arent limited to the number of points you can spend per day...if that wasnt clear from previous posts and yes you can pay for a JJ meal with points, dining dollars or flex and yes it does cost 12 bucks....def not recommended though since the actual worth of the meal is 4.50 (that's what they charge dining employees)</p>

17

<p>"you need to keep in mind that you won't be able to eat in JJ twice a day"</p>

<p>How come, I thought you could desing your schedule in a flexible way, no?</p>

18

<p>you'll be surprised...sometimes schedules arent that flexible....plus you might need your free time to do other administrative things during the day or answer emails and might not have the opportunity to go to JJ by 1pm....going at 130 is useless usually since they'v already started packing up....</p>

<p>also, if every current/former student on this board gives you a certain piece of advice you should really consider it</p>

19

<p>So I'm thinking the third to last with the second most points. Which one were you on Shraf</p>

20

<p>
[quote]
210 meals 150 Points
185 meals 300 Points
150 meals 400 points
115 meals 500 points.

[/quote]

ok, each plan costs the same, $2004. Let's do a little math.
Plan 1: $150 in points means $1854 for 210 meals = $8.82 / meal
Plan 2: $300 in points means $1704 for 185 meals = $9.21 / meal
Plan 3: $400 in points means $1604 for 150 meals = $10.69 / meal
Plan 4: $500 in points means $1504 for 115 meals = $13.08 / meal</p>

<p>Out of the people I know who did Plan 3, and I was among them, they had an average of 30 meals left at the end of each semester, meaning that *despite knowing they had to use-it-or-lose-it<a href="which%20probably%20was%20additional%20motivation%20to%20go%20to%20the%20dining%20hall">/i</a>, they could've gotten Plan 4 and almost had no shortfall in meals by the end.</p>

<p>I knew people who would give upperclass friends of theirs their CUID to go to meals when they wouldn't use it. it's not something you want to be stuck with. of course, i knew people who at the end of each year would run to JJ's Place with $150 in points left, and go on an absolute spending spree, buying tons of stuff and either donating it to charity or throwing a party. it goes both ways.</p>