<p>Question. Where are college kids dining, if not in the cafeterias? I've noticed several references to unused prepaid meals occurring even on 10 or 14/week plans. I guess the menu could get monotonous, but I personally loved the food at the schools we've seen! I'm picturing my D walking past the dining hall (where I've already paid for her to eat) to go to Starbucks to spend cash. Is this the way it is?</p>
<p>At DD’s college, she has many dining options and can buy meals or have dining dollars on her card. Even some of the businesses in the area surrounding the university accept the card. The first semester is the experiment; we went for a low middle plan and she did run out, but we could add to the card. She has two friends with unlimited meals, so they would swipe her in as well. I am sure that the friends’ parents would be happy that their child’s plan was going to a good cause!</p>
<p>juniebug – Even small schools, like my son’s, have breakfast/snack/sandwich places on campus that aren’t covered by the school meal plan where the students can grab a bagel or a quick lunch. Plus I think most colleges have local places that deliver pizza and similar food to the dorms. So there are lots of ways for kids to get fed without using their meal plans. We give my son a nominal amount for the semester to cover the occasional meal/snack that isn’t from the cafeteria, but otherwise he pays for any extracurricular snacks. So that limits how much he gets non-cafeteria food!</p>
<p>MD Mom - I bet you’d be pretty upset if you got a call that your daughter had been caught shoplifting from the school store, but you think it is funny that she uses someone else’s card in the school cafeteria? The fact that the other kids have unlimited plans is irrelevant. Aside from the ethics, I imagine that she could get herself and her friends in a lot of trouble by using their cards.</p>
<p>It is allowed at her school to swipe someone in. She doesn’t take their card and use it. Both kids stand there and the check out person swipes it twice. But thanks for thinking my kid is a thief.</p>
<p>With a 14-meal plan, they’re usually just sleeping through breakfast.</p>
<p>Interesting system, MD Mom. At my son’s school, you can’t use other student’s meal plans-- strictly against the rules. Also difficult to do since the meal plan is tied to their picture ID.</p>
<p>Obviously, I was basing my comments on his school’s system. Sorry to have caused any offense.</p>
<p>I have noticed my son eats off campus quite a bit - particularly on weekends. He took the maximum meal plan for the fall and once we noticed this trend, took a lesser meal plan for the spring. My feeling it take a less expensive plan with fewer meals but the ability to add food dollars as needed - so that you don’t waste money on meals that go uneaten.</p>
<p>I thought that it was rather interesting myself, delamer–especially for an unlimited meal plan. However, it is actually printed in the school’s literature that kids often share with friends especially at the end of the semester; they lose what they don’t use. It also can be a cheap date.</p>
<p>At D1’s school, the meal plan was a comprehensive one (unlimited) and you couldn’t swipe anyone else in. At D2’s school, the meal plan consists of $$$ in an account and the value of each meal is deducted from the account. Since the account does not roll over from one year to the next, kids often “spend down” their account by swiping for someone else’s meal.</p>
<p>In fact, D2 says that there are non-students who frequent the cafeteria who, when they get up to the cashier, ask if anyone would volunteer to swipe for their meal. Probably works better at the end of the year…</p>
<p>MD Mom:</p>
<p>But the million dollar question is – do kids in college today actually “date”?!!</p>
<p>I’d be interesting in knowing if the meal plan setup at your daughter’s school is common. I’ve never heard of something similar, but I’m hardly an expert on college meal plans. </p>
<p>We scaled my son’s meal plan back 2nd semester. He almost never ate more than 2 meals per day, and certainly not in the cafeteria if he did.</p>
<p>It would make sense, based on ellemenope’s report, that schools that track by dollars rather than meals would have a different system.</p>
<p>She will kill me if she reads this, but she usually just makes fun of me being on CC, sooo my daughter has her first boyfriend and they do go out on dates.</p>
<p>I do not know anything about other school’s plans. We did not pay much attention on the tours, I guess.</p>
<p>Both of my kids complained about the cafeteria food getting repetitious after the first six weeks or so. For one thing, not every campus dining facility is on the meal plan. Sometimes the meal-plan cafeteria was a ten-minute walk, when a cash facility was much more convenient. The best solution was to get the fewest cafeteria meals and more “flex bucks” or whatever they are called, which substitute for cash at many facilities, even the ones off-campus at some schools.</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear that dating is still being done. My son seemed to “hang out” with his high school girlfriend, but it was rarely something I’d call a date (just the two of them, with a focused activity like a movie or tennis or whatever).</p>
<p>My son knows I’m on CC, but I think I’ve managed to hide the extent of my participation/addiction.</p>
<p>We were happy to discover that DS gained the frosh 15 weight because of the meal plan.
We were unhappy that he gained it in the wrong places.
We were pleased to be able to save some money by using a plan that he actually used.
Mommy was pleased to make pounds of high protein nut breads and cookies for him to have for breakfast. (cheaper for him to eat a prepared breakfast out).</p>
<p>S’s first school only had an AYCE plan good for every meal, including their Sunday night “midnight snack” meal which was nice for when kids all got back to school if they had gone home. His current school has guest meals on the plans where kids typically get 2-6 guest meals per semester.</p>
<p>D’s has the 19 meal plan as a frosh and it includes 10 guest meals per semester. We thought about opting for the 14 meal plan, but then realized the difference was only $20 per semester. Since she doesn’t have a car at school, we figured the extra $20 was worth it. She usually uses between 16 and 19. Some days 1 or 2 and some days 4 or 5. For instance they have a coffee shop where a coffee and a cookie counts as a meal. They also have a Subway option (6" - 1 meal, 12" = 2 meals) and a sit down cafe style option where they can dine for 2 meals. The caveat which no one shared up front is that those other places cannot be used on Saturday or Sunday.</p>
<p>Often, the difference between the top end and 10 meal plan is very little. Like I said, we went for the top for the few dollars difference rather than worry she was going to go hungry…</p>
<p>Between my two D’s & visiting multiple universities over the years, I visited more college dining halls and eaten more marginal carb-laden food than I would care to remember. But when D2 became a Weight Watchers disciple during her junior year in HS, food availability/choices on campus became a major factor in the decision-making process.</p>
<p>She inevitably chose to attend UW-Madison, and while it is a world-class institution on academic grounds alone, their pro-active approach to student dining made more sense to her than any other place she visited.</p>
<p>All items are purchased a la carte, as you go–there are no meal plans per se, and while it is still ‘dorm food’, there are multiple ethnic choices & special dietary need fare is available, with a unique nutritional information page on their website:</p>
<p>[Housing</a> Dining and Culinary Services – Nutrition](<a href=“http://www.housing.wisc.edu/dining/nutrition/]Housing”>Nutrition & Allergens – University Housing – UW–Madison)</p>
<p>MD Mom:
</p>
<p>A word of caution: An unlimited meal plan is like a Buffet ticket applicable to only one person to eat as much as one can.</p>
<p>^^For those who are worried that my DD is stealing meals at her college, and I am wondering as I write this why people have to snipe about things they know nothing about, here is the information from the school’s Web site: “Additionally, you will enjoy 30 bonus Dining Passes to be used throughout the semester for take-out meals in the Market To-Go area, and 10 bonus Guest Passes to use for friends and family to dine-in.”</p>
<p>I guess they were using the guest passes.</p>
<p>D2’s school has a plan where you put cash in the account for “points”. Each item is worth so many points and deducted from her account. She can buy all of her friends meals if she wants! The points are also good at the local gas station, fast food places and at the grocery and convenience stores. Unfortunately she uses her points to get gas to come home or to buy groceries. She has not gained the freshman fifteen but has added lots of miles on her car! ;)</p>