<p>When I was a freshman (2004), I ate about 18-20 meals/wk in the dining hall, so it was a pretty good deal for me. I think most people eat less, somewhere around 10-15/wk and just eat out with friends or skip breakfast.</p>
<p>I definitely enjoyed the convenience of not having to cook or buy groceries, but after a while, you do want to eat something different/new. For what it’s worth, most people will agree that breakfast is the best meal served in the dining halls.</p>
<p>You also should consider what dorm you’ll be in. Most of the traditional dorms/suites only have one kitchen per floor, and as I recall you can only have a mini-fridge in your room. The apartments, of course, have their own kitchens. When I moved to an on-campus apartment, I dropped the meal plan and took care of meals myself. If you’re fairly frugal and don’t eat out too much, it’s not that much more expensive to live an apartment and cook your own food. Though I don’t think freshman can get apartments, but things may have changed since I left GT.</p>