Meal Plans

<p>Hmm can anybody explain me what a floating meal, meal, and dollars are?
Which of the two plans should I take? pros and cons? Thanks!</p>

<p>bump bump??</p>

<p>they simplified the meal plans to two, and now that jj’s and ferris are meal places, it is kind of a wash.</p>

<p>the old suggestion was always to have more dining dollars and the least meals (because unless you were an athlete you’d never finish the meals). at this point i think that it becomes marginally better to get more dollars (it seems like 212, butler, dodge cafes being the only real places that primarily operate with dining dollars). so i’d say the question is how much coffee and small goodies do you think you will get? if it is a lot, the more dining dollars one might be better, otherwise get more meals and shift your attention to flex - which you can use to buy groceries, food in nearby places, as well as everywhere else that accepts dining dollars (save the fact you pay for tax with flex and you don’t with dd’s).</p>

<p>Thanks! A couple of more questions
What is flex? sorry, I’ve been looking up on CU wiki and website, but couldn’t find it…</p>

<p>also, i heard the meals allotted for a week-period expire at the end of each week… so if for example the first meal plan is 19 meals, then are students expected to use all 19 meals in a week-period? Do students usually have 3 meals per day? That’s a lot of questions… Thanks as always!</p>

<p>sorry…another bump</p>

<p>ya i’m curious about the meal plans too.
ybc to answer ur question, from wad i understand it’s 19 meals which expire every week. So if you only eat 1 meal this week, next sunday (or is it monday?) it resets to 19 meals that week.</p>

<p>which means it’s still better to get the one with less meals cos dining dollars expire in a year… right?
what’s the price of an average meal paid by dining dollars? ie if you eat an average meal (nothing fanciful but not a sandwich either) using dining dollars, which plan gives you more meals in total?</p>

<p>also what’s this thing about flex? i’ve only heard of dining dollars and meals D:</p>

<p>anyone please?</p>

<p>I guess… no one?</p>

<p>[Dining</a> : Dining Plans, Dining Dollars & Flex](<a href=“http://www.columbia.edu/cu/dining/docs/meal-plans-flex/index.html]Dining”>http://www.columbia.edu/cu/dining/docs/meal-plans-flex/index.html)</p>

<p>check it out, and links on flex</p>

<p>happy hunting.</p>

<p>Hey guys, </p>

<p>I’m assuming nobody is responding because its hard to know what the new changes will be like next year. Particularly, no one knows if the quality of Ferris Booth and JJ’s will change; if Ferris Booth stays as good as it is right now, you’ll want to get more meals than we would normally say (meals are $13.50 with dining dollars, and vary with the different meal plans. Plan C, for instance, comes out to where meals are ~$10 each). </p>

<p>I’m a sophomore, and also have no idea which one to pick. I would recommend going with either Plan B or Plan C this year and… hoping for the best. I definitely would not get Plan A, mostly because you’re unlikely to use 14 meals/week (for now, at least… again, next year will be different) and you don’t want to lose the meals every week. </p>

<p>Or, you could always go with Plan D and eat off campus more often (its cheaper, healthier, and better quality). This might be your best option, but it might be more of a hassle getting food off campus more often. </p>

<p>Also, I’d just like to say that these changes are ridiculous. While students have been calling for change for a looong time, these changes suck. Apparently if you just want to get a smoothie at JJ’s, you’ll have to use an entire meal to get it (~$10 smoothie, or $13.50 if you use Dining Dollars). And if you just want a banana or a bowl of cereal, that, again, will cost you a full meal. Dining services is absolutely insane.</p>