<p>Anyone have any tips about the meal plans? I know that at one other school I visited, the tour guide told me that the 21-meal plan is way too much food for the average person. I would like to know more about the Combo and Flex plans, too. I thought I would do the 14-meal plan, but $20 in dining points seems pretty limited…</p>
<p>Twenty-one meals are too many unless you eat a full breakfast and lunch every day. Also, you'll have occasion to eat off-campus or order take-out. Every time you do that, you lose the meal from the plan.</p>
<p>Points aren't such a great deal, either. Each point is worth $1.00 in the dining halls, yet it seems they cost more than a dollar. You're better off using good old American cash.</p>
<p>I actually use the 21 meal plan, even though I sometimes feel like I'm in the minority or that it's viewed negatively. I'm the kind of person who really generally eats 3 meals, and I personally don't go off-campus that much. I do usually "lose" 2 meals on weekends, I guess, because I usually don't have lunch. I personally find points confusing, because I also have WhoCash, and then I feel like you have to keep track of 2 balances. With WhoCash, you can just add as much money as you want to your account (supposed to be possible to do it online next year) and then uses your ID card as a kind of Debit card. So when I'm in the Usdan Dining Hall, where the meals are pay as you go, I can use a combination of a meal and WhoCash if I get more than the standard price. To me, it's just easier to deal with one balance all the time instead of 2. WhoCash also carries over from year to year in contrast to points: you can use Whocash for everything in the convenience store, in the bookstore and in most laundry rooms. There are probably also cons to the 21 meal plan and pros to the other plans, but here is the slightly unusual perspective of someone who is basically satisfied with the 21 meal plan, at least right now. I think it also really depends on what kind of meal habits you have, like whether you eat breakfast every day and so on. You can also switch in the first two weeks if you decide to do a different one.
More info:
<a href="http://www.brandeis.edu/departments/campuscard/#mealplans%5B/url%5D">http://www.brandeis.edu/departments/campuscard/#mealplans</a></p>
<p>I think the general consensus is, the closer you are to all points, the better. The 10 meals/week + $525 in points works well for most.</p>
<p>Don't do 21. Remember, you don't get points, and so if you want food, you not only <em>have</em> to limit yourself to a meal (you might go 25 cents over, or under, etc.), but you also have to live by Aramark's dining schedule. It's not pretty. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served at specific and non-overlapping times, and you won't find food on the weekends after 7pm.</p>
<p>I don't really eat a lot during lunchtime, so I'm guessing I should rule out the 21-meal plan now...thanks for the point about the points (haha), rebelliousduck. I think I like the WhoCash thing better.</p>
<p>Personally, I have the 10 meal plan and it works best for me. I spend Friday night- Sunday afternoon in Boston or Cambridge most weeks, so I have no need for the extra meals on the weekends. Also, Waltham has some of the best restaurants in the area and some cheap gems, so I walk with my friends into Waltham when the weather is nice for food often, or order in. </p>
<p>The points actually costing more than a dollar is a drag, especially because the food in the C store is already so expensive, but they're convenient. You get over $500 a semester in points with the 10 meal plan. The times when I like to eat most are generally after the dining hall that I eat at closes (I don't really eat at the Boulevard if I can at all avoid it) so I can take a walk down to Einsteins and grab a bagel and some coffee, or go to the Cstore and grab some snacks. I normally buy a few bagels in advance for my breakfast to keep in the room.</p>
<p>Can anybody please comment about the 14 meal/week plan? Have you used it? Isn't it a good compromise (21 too much and 10 too little?), considering it saves about $2100 compared to 21 meal plan? With that kind of money one can have a lot of extra meals, I think.</p>
<p>Sorry the difference is not $2100, only ~$300. Not a big saving</p>
<p>While $300 isn't a lot of money, it is nearly 15%. The 21-meal plan is a good value if you're the kind of person who wants to sit down to three meals a day, and doesn't mind doing it on campus or having limited variety. If, on the other hand, you skip meals with any degree of frequency, take some on the fly, will eat off campus, order delivery, etc, there is no point in paying for something that you won't use. Meals don't carry over from week to week, term to term. </p>
<p>You are better off choosing the plan that most closely reflects your eating behavior. Easier said than done, I know. Keep in mind that you can change your plan within the first two weeks of a term. Even if your habits change after that, you're only locked in for a term and can go to a different plan for subsequent terms. In other words, pick one and don't veg over the decision.</p>
<p>I'm thinking about doing the 10 meals / $525 in points. I rarely eat breakfast so the 21 meals seems like a waste, and I'd rather have more options than the two dining halls and not be confined by their hours. The 14 meals doesn't seem like that great of a deal- $20 a semester in points? That's like slightly over $1 a week, which to me seems stupid. I figure that I have enough meals for dinner and some lunch, and then my points will give me enough for the other lunches and a little left over if I choose to grab something at C store or the coffee place.</p>
<p>For the first semester, get the 10 meal plan with the 525 points - that is the best meal plan and typically most students switch to it if they start out with another meal plan. The 21 meal plan is a waste. My friends who were on the 14 meal plan always were careful what they got - like if they wanted coffee then they got a cheap lunch instead of the sandwich that they really wanted. Points are the best and unfortunately the 14 meal plan does not offer that many. With the 10 meal plan you never have to worry about going hungry and you don't have to pay attention to how much food you get because no matter what you will have tons of points left over at the end of the year. I'd say the majority of first-years go with the 10 meals a week plan.</p>