<p>What meal plan would be best for a typical freshman at Brown?
I know that the food at the Ratty is not the best, and that the VDub is better, but I was wondering if going on the 20meals/wk plan would be overwhelming? I’ve looked at the Brown meal plan website, but I’d like some advice from current or former students. Can anyone offer me some advice about choosing meal plans?</p>
<p>Go on a flex plan, I'm on the lowest flex plan and still have plenty of credits left although I'm out of flex points since you don't get many on the lowest plan. Depends if you want cafeteria food all the time or some of the time. The vdub might be a little better but it's not like on a whole new level or anything. I think the Blue Room, Ivy Room, and Jo's are the best although they don't all take meal credits the same way...each is different.</p>
<p>The truth is it depends on if you eat. If you plan on eating 2-3 meals a day, the 20 meals a week plan is so much more economically feasible that nothing else makes sense.</p>
<p>Remember, your meals convert to flex points at the end of the day (for that day), so a meal doesn't mean you're in the Ratty or VDub.</p>
<p>The way it works is that meals converted to flex points still give you more buying power on the 20 meal a week plan than the highest flex plan by far, but it just means you have to be regularly converting (and not losing) your meals.</p>
<p>Flex only makes economic sense if you're frequently eating only once to twice a day on campus and never three times and you don't want to have to spend meals as points to stock up on things like water daily. Even then, you're paying a ton for very little food.</p>
<p>I'm disputing the economical point... I know that the higher plans cost less per meal but I opted to pay more per meal because the total cost was lower in the end. </p>
<p>They don't convert into flex points, they are just 5.55 in cash for that evening, which is different.</p>
<p>The lower cost meal plans are just not worth it. You save like $500 a year going from 20 meals a week to 7 meals a week, and on the flex plans its even worse. You lose almost as many flex points as the money you save, and that's not even counting the fact you get half as many meals. Get the 20 meal plan or Flex 460 your freshman year, and then go off meal plan. I calculated it out and it costs you $20.50 a day to be on the 20 meal plan and something like $14-17 a day for the lower plans. Think of how much food you could get at restaurants or at grocery stores for that kind of money!</p>
<p>Hrm... back when I was on meal plan it cost about 14-15 dollars a day to be on the 20 meal a week plan. It worked out to about 450 a month for the semester (counting December and May has full months) and that's way more than I spend grocery shopping/eating out now.</p>
<p>As for the total cost being lower-- you're paying less overall but getting way less for your money. If you intend on eating 2-3 times a day it just doesn't make sense by any convenience argument, you're just losing money. Much less and well... I don't know, I eat at least lunch and dinner every day and often breakfast, but if not breakfast, than again a couple of hours past dinner.</p>
<p>Taking that 5.55 and applying it either towards food for a third meal or buying things that you need for the dorm room (water or drinks in general, nutrigrain bars, etc) still just makes more sense than not having it at all.</p>
<p>You literally had something like double the overall points to spend if you were willing to spend them daily on the 20 meal a week plan when they first introduced Flex. I'm sure it's near the same now.</p>
<p>If you are on the 20 meal plan and do not use any of your meals on a given day (my D is an athlete, and will be gone some days/weekends) are you able to "cash" them in on a different day during the same week or only convert them to cash on that day? Which meal plan are most athletes on? Can we do the 20 meal plan for first semester (before her season starts) and switch to the flex 460 plan in January when she will be traveling to give her more flexability. Also, does anyone know how the meals work when she returns to school in early January. If she is returning to school 2 weeks earlier than non-athletes, she will use enough meals to possibly make up for the time she is gone. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>"If you intend on eating 2-3 times a day"</p>
<p>That's the thing, some days I might eat twice on campus, some not at all. </p>
<p>"you're paying less overall but getting way less for your money."</p>
<p>I'll quote myself in response, "I know that the higher plans cost less per meal but I opted to pay more per meal because the total cost was lower in the end. "</p>
<p>I 'm not too concerned about getting bang for my buck and being forced into spending more money. When I'm out of credits I'll just cook or eat out. Next year I won't even be on meal plan.</p>
<p>Lisa, why don't you just call BDS? (401) 863-3343</p>
<p>On the 20 meal plan you will lose credits if you don't use them, and I don't think you can switch mid year. I think you can you buy plans for being early on campus or somthing, but like I said, why not just call BDS? They get paid to answer questions.</p>
<p>Here's the deal--</p>
<p>Yes you can switch mid year, any time in fact, but not go completely off once you're on a meal plan.</p>
<p>On the 20 meals a week plan you can use a max of 2-3 meals a day.</p>
<p>Many athletes are on the 20 meals a week plan because they're often eating 2-3 times a day, and many athletes are on the flex plan so they don't lose meals while traveling because they miss a lot of weekends.</p>
<p>January food is separate. They may have to fend for themselves, I don't think we offer any meal services over winter though I know we do over the summer. There may be limited meal services for athletes then that don't cost them their regular plan, I'm unsure. If it was under regular cost, than the 20 meals a week plan would be far better.</p>
<p>As for wolfman--
For me, it's not a matter of eating twice on campus. It's eating twice period. When I was on meal plan, I would still eat 2-3 times a day, on or off campus. Spending money for additional meals off campus is expensive to do especially in addition to meal plan (I'm not talking going out with friends every once and a while, I'm talking daily activity). If you're going off campus to eat those meals you're definitely spending more overall than just getting a higher meal plan.</p>
<p>For me, I couldn't imagine paying any more per meal than I already had to. I couldn't imagine getting way less for the same amount of money. That's been my take on the meal plan.</p>
<p>But, I went off campus and off meal plan as soon as was possible.</p>
<p>"you're definitely spending more overall than just getting a higher meal plan."</p>
<p>Except the quality of food makes up for more than the deficit. I don't mind paying more per meal. Eating cafeteria all the time makes wolfmanjack a dull boy.</p>
<p>Thanks Wolfman & Modestmelody</p>
<p>I will need to check into it further. I really want her to email her future teamates and ask them these questions but she is reluctant to "bother" them. She wants to start on the 20 meal plan and switch to Flex if she's missing alot of meals. I will call BDS and ask about January meals, that information may make a difference in which plan we chose.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure that during January the athletes get to eat for free. The schedule on the BDS website has the Ratty being open for athtetes and J-term students, and I know that atheletes get to eat for free over spring break.</p>
<p>So what meal plan would you suggest for me if I just like to have a yogurt and a piece of fruit in the morning (which I could buy at the market and have in my dorm fridge) but would want to eat lunch and dinner at one of the dining halls or the ivy/blue room? I just don't know whether to get the 14 meals per week or the equivalent flex plan.......</p>
<p>Could melody or any other student clarify how the retail purchases work with the non-flex plan? If i were to get 20 meals a week, I was under the impression that i could use 15 meals in a week, and make 5 trips a la carte or to the mini mart and spend 5.55. Do the 20 refresh every week, or will I need to use 3 everyday or lose them? And if they do refresh every week, could I potentially goto the mini-mart and use a few meals at the end of each week to stock up? Thanks all!</p>
<p>20 refresh every week, but you can never spend more than 3 meals per day. You cannot use meals at carts as points, only at The Gate, Jo's, and the Ivy Room (at night, not for lunch) can you convert meals to point. The Blue Room is all points as are any of the carts and the small market in Faunce.</p>
<p>You cannot eat 2 times a day and then use 6 swipes at the end of the week. This works the same for the 14 or 7 meal a week (non flex) plans.</p>
<p>Flex plans are actually just meal and points allowances for the semester and that's it.</p>
<p>Pirate, I'd say in your case I'd still go with the 20 a week meal plan. Lunch at the cafeteria + half and half dinner at cafeteria or Jo's, the Gate, or Ivy Room is how I did things. At night I'd just grab yogurts, fruit, milk, water, etc to bring back with my extra meal for the day for my breakfast. This was by far the cheapest way per meal.</p>
<p>billman 1020, it's not that your credits convert into 5.55 flex, it's that they are worth 5.55. I know that doesnt make sense, but the way it works is that at places like jo's or the gate where you commonly use credits or flex, if you have an extra meal credit, you'll ask to pay with a credit, and if your total is 5.55 or less, one credit is subtracted. Places like the campus market, blue room, and the little carts in libraries and other buildings do not accept meal credits, and as such, all spending there will come from the 100 flex points you get in addition to 20 meals a week, which is more accurately described as 3 meals a day (except one day of the week where you'll have to use only 2 credits).</p>
<p>As a varsity athlete, I would like to address the 20/flex. First off, DEFINITELY GET THE LARGEST PLAN regardless of if you go flex or not. When you travel, if you are not on flex, you will lose the credits, but you get money from the athletic department to pay for food (you get the same amount of money if you're on flex too). If your team has to come back during winter break, you will either get access to the ratty or straight cash to use on thayer st. You can switch during winter break, I am a winter athlete, that's what I did.</p>
<p>Thanks modestmelody!</p>