<p>DS is a sophomore. His freshman year, he did the 14 meal plan plus. At his school that means he gets 14 meals a week, and some convenience points to use at some of the other vendors on and near the campus. This year he switched to a 133 meals a semester plan (basically 7 meals a week for 19 weeks) that has a ton of convenience points. He found that he was "out and about" and was spending lots of cash at the bistros around campus. He figures he eats about one meal a day in the dining hall...but the good thing about this plan is that it's a semester plan. So when he is away from campus for one reason or another he isn't "wasting" meals we've paid for. He's going to try that this year and see how it goes. So far it is fine. I would NOT recommend this for a freshman, however.</p>
<p>Digi, my closest friend from Pittsburgh has a son where your son is going. I have other friends whose kids have graduated from the school. Every single one of them ended up hating the university food, and went off the meal plan as soon as they could even though their parents did not like that idea. All but one moved off campus as well, though the housing seems fine to me; luxerious compared to some schools I know.</p>
<p>That said, I always tended to be a bit generous the first semester, figuring we would see what the kids wanted and let them choose their comfort levels. And that is exactly what happened. For various reason, mine were either off the meal plans or on minimal plans. I insisted my D stay on a plan this year, and I know it was largely not used but it was a minimal plan. It depends not only on the quality of food and personal taste but the kids they end up hanging with. My son being an athlete ended up getting a lot of his meals subsidized by a frat (he was not a member) and by the athletic dept, but no info on that was ever given so we could not anticipate that bonus. My niece made some friends that liked to cook and go out, so she preferred that venue to going to the cafeteria. D's dorm has a kitchen right near her room, so she buys groceries and prefers to eat that way. Nephew spent a lot of his time at the med school which was a about a half hour away and the meal plan was not compatible there so it made no sense to have much more than the minimum, and his school ended up doing a cash card plan which suited the situation much more. I would go more with the flex even if it costs a bit more and be a bit generous since he has really done well in the awards area, helping with the costs tremendously.</p>
<p>RE missing meals because of schedule. Try contacting the food service. Son's school has M-Thurs dinners in the plan. His schedule prevented dinner one night a week. We found out when I called they would give him a voucher he could use in the snack bar for the missed dinner. Before that he was using flex money, left overs, or cup a soup. </p>
<p>I got a cheap plan first semester and he ended up ok but only because he ate a lot of cheap lunches and made cup a soup(found this out after the fact). Guilty mom raised plan to next level this semester so that he would have more variety in lunches. Doesn't eat breakfast.</p>
<p>I've never known anyone to use up a 20 meal plan. I would consider the 14+ if his classes are much closer to the food courts you describedthan to the dining hall, or if there are limited/inordinately expensive off campus eating options - the cafeteria will get old pretty fast, and you want to give him opportunities to eat out sheaply..</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Check the HOURS that the campus eating facilities are open, and find out whether unused meals can be "saved" or applied for use later. One problem my son had at his college was that by the time he was thinking about lunch or dinner, the window of opportunity for the meal had passed -- so even if he had wanted to eat on campus, it was too late for him to get fed. A lot of college kids keep really late hours - they get hungry around 9 or 10 pm. One more reason why the local Dominos does so well. >></p> </blockquote>
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<p>I was going to say this, but Calmom beat me to it. If your S keeps odd hours (labs, studios, etc...) a meal plan tied to the cafeteria may be too restrictive. My S eventually settled for a meal point card after signing up for a generous meal plan. If such is not available, sign up for a basic meal plan and give the extra money to buy food as needed.</p>
<p>Again thanks to all. We're doing the smaller plan and adding the money saved onto his debit card to eat elsewhere for the other meals (or from the dorm refrigerator). Contract's in the mail!! You guys are great.</p>
<p>Okay, I've been reading all this, and have a question myself:</p>
<p>How do you get off campus to eat? Do you walk? Do you ride with friends? I won't have a car. Some people mentioned getting cereal + milk for breakfasts. That option appeals to me--but how would I get to a store without a huge hassle? Would I have to take a metro system?</p>
<p>Are the restaurants off campus typically cheap enough to afford to eat at on a regular basis? (I will be in LA) In otherwords, are they affordable for poor students who hate fast food? Right now, I'm looking at having about a thousand dollars per semester to cover all my expenses outside of room/board/tuiton.</p>
<p>My college doesn't have a 21 meal plan, but here's what I'm looking at:
16 meals per week with $160 flex dollars - X + 400 (basically the extra flex dollars, but this would let me eat breakfasts in the dining hall)
12 meals per week with $120 flex dollars - X
8 meals per week with $80 flex dollars - X-900</p>
<p>I'm leaning strongly toward the 16 meal plan, simply because I'd rather not worry about having the money to eat. I suppose the difference here is that my parents will likely pay for the meal plan, but I am paying for all my own outside expenses/books--which will include eating off campus. But I'd hate to waste my parent's money.</p>
<p>Tanstaafll - getting off campus to buy food really depends on where the college is. My son was at a small LAC - but it was only about a 5 minute walk from campus to the downtown area of the town near his LAC. When I went to college, my dorm was at the edge of campus -- all I had to do was to cross the street to get to a strip mall with a grocery store and various shops. </p>
<p>You didn't say where you are going to college - except "in LA" - but generally you shouldn't have any problems in an urban area. However, on larger campuses, you may also find the meal plan more valuable -- larger campuses tend to have more options for student dining, with longer hours. </p>
<p>I will tell you one thing: even if you have visited the campus and eaten in the dining hall - and felt the food was good -- you will get tired of it. On a small campus this can be a huge problem. It's just an issue of lack of variety: they keep serving the same thing over and over - by the third week on campus, the novelty wears off. On a larger campus, as noted above, there may be a lot more choices of where to eat and what kind of food is available. Those flex dollars might come in handy if they can be used at student cafe's where you could pick up a burger or a sandwich.</p>
<p>My daughter is at an urban LAC. They can buy food to prepare meals if they must from the dining hall who will sell ingredients. Trader Joes & Safeway are a short walk from campus, and other alternatives are a short bus ride ( or they deliver!)</p>
<p>It is a very small campus ( 1300) and while I think the food is pretty good for a cafeteria ( light years beyond what the K-12 often have) still it gets old when that is your only option.
I think it is good to have at least minimum meal plan and at daughters school it is required if you live on campus ( except in apts) I strongly suggested that she have a plan next year even if she lives in an apt because I think she could easily slide into living on cold cereal if she didn't have the incentive to go in and eat a hot meal.
THe dining hall actually seems expensive for many things, and I think for those wishing alternatives that off campus especially in a city, may provide tastier and even cheaper meals.</p>
<p>I find it so strange that I have to decide now how much I want to eat next year. I decided on the 15 meal plan (3x a day 5 days a week and no weekends) because I figured I won't want a 19 meal plan so I could eat on the weekends and I won't need it when I go home or have other plans most weekends. My cousin and his friends eat at the Kmart buffet on sundays they say its all you can eat for like $3.00</p>
<p>My daughter is at a tiny private college in a rural location. Nothing in walking distance. They live on campus all four years and have no choice on the meal plan. Everyone pays the same but they charge different amounts for different things. She's not much of an eater and right now has a balance of + $200. That amount doesn't disappear, just rolls into the next semester or we can choose to get it right off her last tuition payment at the end of the year.</p>
<p>Calmom, I'll be going to Scripps.</p>
<p>My fear is that the nearby neighborhood (Claremont) seems rather artsy and upscale, more like a retiree area, which seems rather more expensive than I can afford. I don't mind a walk, and this may not be a problem after all. Just one of those things I wish I had paid more attention to when I was on campus. I think I'll ask my student contact there what she does...</p>
<p>The plus side of this meal plan is that I will have five different cafeterias (the 5c system--Pomona, CMC, etc...) to choose from. I can eat on them all with my card.</p>
<p>The food at Scripps is pretty sensational - the best I've ever seen at a college anywhere (and much better than with the other 5c cafeterias - one of the disadvantages is that it is always packed with students from the other colleges.)</p>
<p>The walk from Scripps into Claremont is a significant hike - Scripps is at the far north end of the 5cs (next to Mudd), while the "neighborhood" eating places are south of the far south end. Good for exercise on the weekends, and the weather is always fine!</p>
<p>Is there a student run/used message board on the website at the campus you have in mind? You might post this question there.</p>
<p>If the campus is smallish (10 - 15 minutes or less walking from most academic buildings to dining hall) with a single dining hall and possibly some snack carts in some of the academic buildings plus a food service in a "student union" type of venue, I'd consider either the either the 14 ro 20 meal plan and use either a declining balance card (university issued debit card, really) or as a distant second, cash, to buy "fill in" meals at non dining hall venues if the meal card can't be used. </p>
<p>The decision between 14 and 20 really depends on what happens when the student actually starts living on campus. If they allow upgrades, start with 14 as others have suggested and upgrade to 20. Lots of students here (public university in Ky), will generally have either an MWF sequence of early morning classes or one on the TTh sequence and will eat breakfast on those days in the dining halls. On the off days, assuming there is a sequence with later starting classes, kids sleep in a bit, breakfast is missed and the students tend to graze later at the food carts.</p>
<p>I'd avoid a situation where the student would always have to carry around sums of cash to eat. I don't see the need for the "additional places" option, seems very expensive.</p>
<p>Our university allows "take out" - any meal can be packaged in a container and eaten on the run (not the best idea but beats missing a meal) or after class (or during if the prof is tolerant :-) ). We've found this has improved nutritional behavior somewhat.</p>
<p>Good luck,</p>
<p>Bill</p>