<p>After reading a lot of threads from last year it seems that the consensus is 50 meal passes + 950 Dining Dollars. Does anyone feel that 50 meal passes are too few considering there are approximately 105 dinners a semester? I tend to agree with the 50 given that there are so many places to eat right on Forbes Ave., but I can also see buying the plan 1 tier up with 75 passes and $900 + Dining Dollars. I understand that I can add more Dining Dollars when meal passes run out but Im trying to do this the most economical way possible. D really does not eat a lot. Will probably eat 2 meals a day and 1 of those meals will be small. Any input appreciated.</p>
<p>I tried to get DD to select Tier 2/Plan C (125 passes + 600 Dining Dollars), but she is set on 2/A (175 passes + $275). I think she has too many dining passes, and tried to explain how she could work the system a little by choosing a different plan…but ultimately went with what she wanted. Until she gets there and sees what eating patterns she develops, it’s all a guess anyway. If she quickly realizes she has the wrong plan, she’ll change in the first two weeks. Otherwise, we’ll make adjustments for the second semester.</p>
<p>Sometimes with this kid it’s just easier to let her figure things out herself.</p>
<p>(To answer your question…I would want more than 50 passes; 75-100 would be my choice. But I like to eat brunch on the weekends!)</p>
<p>DD came home today, YEAH. First year complete. She said that the kids in Forbes do eat in Market Central, but also buy food to keep in their rooms at the IGA that is close by. She used all of her 75 passes + 975 dining dollars this semester.</p>
<p>Panther Funds can be added to the Pitt card (dining dollars and passes, too) and they can be used lots of places around campus. There is a list of establishments that accept the cards–somewhere.</p>
<p>My son starts this fall and surely eats more than any of your daughters. LOL. My pick was Ultimate Access at the bottom level. I plan to load his Pitt card at the beginning of each semester with our budgeted amount. Then if he runs out, at least his books are bought and he won’t starve.</p>
<p>You might want to rethink that. I have never met someone fat, skinny, guy, girl, sumo-wrestler (ok I am kidding about the last one) who bought an ultimate access tier and did not think it was a waste of money. </p>
<p>I gained 20 pounds on a tier 3 E so yeah… its plenty of food. (Now, of course, I am a starving upperclassmen and have lost back 16) </p>
<p>Don’t believe sudexo’s pitt dinning website or that dumb calculator. I wouldn’t even really trust back of the envelope calculations. Here are some reasons you should buy less then you think…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>There is no real discount to getting them at the beginning (at best it is like 15%). If you run out you can alway buy more.</p></li>
<li><p>Using meal pass is only cheaper than spending dinning dollars, panther funds, cash IF you are going there for dinner. Otherwise, for breakfast/lunch it is actually cheaper to just pay in DD, PF or $.</p></li>
<li><p>Once december/april hits you will have a handful of friends with like 137 dinning passes left who will be happy to feed you. </p></li>
<li><p>You will want to go out</p></li>
<li><p>You will want to buy junk from cvc/rite aid and eat it for a meal</p></li>
<li><p>You will go to market central. Go to every single table. Desire nothing. And then realize you have to eat something and get pasta. And then look at the pasta and pour out about 1/2 cut of grease from the pasta onto another plate. Then realize you are not hungry. Then eat ice cream for a meal and not want to go back to market for like a month. (this is a true story) </p></li>
<li><p>However good you think market it from the one time you went. It is NOT. For one they intentionally make the food way better when parents/prospective students are here. Plus you will like the food about half as much for each consecutive month you eat it. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>ok, so go ahead and don’t believe me now 
its nothing on me of course.</p>
<p>Yeah, I felt that way on points 3-7 during my own experience as a freshman years ago, at another school. These things never change.</p>
<p>I’m curious whether you actually track the extra spending per semester after you buy the 50 pass / 930 DD plan. Somebody else pointed out the meal pass cost is 14.60 under that plan, and less under other plans. They get you one way or the other. The Ultimate Access plan works out as 22.14 per day for a 16-week calendar, which is high, but that’s because all the options amount to eating out every meal. The minimal plan amounts to 14.82 per day, plus whatever is added on during the semester, runs to CVS, etc. To me, the Ultimate Access plan puts an upper bound on it. </p>
<p>This is important for the freshman year. Future years could be different. I would think the cheapest and best food comes from living off campus.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input. I may change my mind but probably not.</p>
<p>The good news about the meal plan is that it only the first semester that is really the experiment. You can re-evaluate at the end of the semester and decide whether less is needed.</p>
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<p>Yeah, guys eat more than girls but they still go eat at the same frequency as girls. Since Market Central is all-you-can eat once you enter, the amount of food really isn’t the concern, it’s how often your kid gets hungry.</p>
<p>My S just finished first year. He got the 125 meal plan 1st semester. Had a few meals left at the end, so he got the 100 meal plan 2nd semester. He didn’t think it was enough meals, so he’s back to the 125 plan. Frankly, he’s happy with Market Central and doesn’t eat out at restaurants often.</p>