<p>Anyone out there have any suggestions for what meal plan to get for my son? He is a big eater, but probably will not eat breakfast. Also, how much on average do kids spend per month with their buck ID? Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>I thought my dd was big eater too but we were way off! We calculated carefully…how many days in the quarter, subtracted for weekends home…assumed two meals a day plus some extras for snacks (coffee, smoothies at the rec ctr, etc). We bought the Buckeye Plus (200 swipes) as I figured we got 50 meals for $150 dollars more and extra meal swipes are 10 for $70. We had so many left over that we stocked up on water, pop, etc at Marketplace at end of quarter and still wasted a ton. She now has Carmen Plus which was also plenty at 125 swipes. She found she really only ate one big meal a day as a rule. They can also use swipes for some delivery…got hooked on insomnia cookies…brunch at The Blackwell, which is a ton of swipes but fun to do once a quarter. $100 on BuckID lasted almost the whole quarter.</p>
<p>We started out with Scarlet, then went down to Carmen, and now we are down to Gray. This is for a good sized boy-175lbs/6’1" who is active. In addition, he spends about $50 in cash from his checking account each month at various eateries along High Street although some is spent on random supplies and movies/entertainment. He seems to use all of his BuckID money ($100) each term. It is pretty easy to change your plan if needed.</p>
<p>Better to change your plan by quarter BEFORE…we thought about changing by the quarter deadline for fall a few weeks in. On the date you change, you start your new plan, in FULL…not pro-rated or the swipes used subtracted and they then charge you the per charge fee for every swipe used to date under your old plan…for us, would have cost me $60 to change!</p>
<p>Same here - ended up downgrading down to Gray for the second quarter for son who is not a light eater, healthy and active. He said he just got so much food for a swipe that he couldn’t use up more. He ended up going to the Blackwell several times toward the end of the first quarter just to use up multiple swipes on each meal and he still had a ton left. </p>
<p>He also seems to have settled in to one big meal a day, and he has cereal in his room, etc., to snack on. Things have balanced out much better with the Gray plan. He should have few meals left at the end of this quarter, which we can use up when he moves out of the dorm with his always-hungry brother along!</p>
<p>Next year he will have an apartment and we’re not sure if we should do the commuter plan or not. It sure is convenient when on campus (and I wish he would still be in a dorm).</p>
<p>He didn’t use much money on his BuckID at first, until after the first quarter as he got used to how he could use it and for what. Now he uses up most of the $$$ on the card so that he doesn’t have to have cash all of the time.</p>
<p>Does it make a difference where you live? I can imagine living on south/north campus, spending more time on High street, but if you living in the Towers, not wanting to make the trek to high Street as much and using more swipes. But that is my theory only.</p>
<p>I can’t remember what’s in the towers…fresh express and a traditional dining? might eat out while at class and there is delivery!! I told dd I think all the options are great but it took all the social fun out of everyone dining in mostly the same place for every meal. She said a group from her dorm eats at the traditional dining for dinner each night but she doesn’t like their offerings, which I think is why she only eats one meal most days…since it’s no fun to eat alone. I’d imagine they get more group dining in the towers being that they’re removed somewhat so you’d eat there together or go somewhere together.</p>
<p>My d eats a lot of small meals. I know a swipe is usually a meal, but can you use part of a swipe for part of a meal. The Carmen plan is 125 swipes, which comes out to 1 1/2 meals a day for 11 weeks, that doesn’t seem like enough.</p>
<p>It’s really not that hard to live off 100-125 swipes a quarter if you’re close to high street and don’t swipe for breakfast. Plus you have to figure that during the weekends, your dining options are a little bit slimmer, so you might be eating out a bit more than expected.</p>
<p>I live in one of the towers, and there are three places to eat nearby, Fresh Express, PAD, and the RPAC. Most students downgrade to 150 or 125 by the second quarter unless they really do eat three times a day. At Fresh you can get enough food with one swipe to last two meals, and so I frequently alternate using 1 or 2 swipes a day. Some of my swipes also go toward food from the C-store, which has milk and a few food options, including cereal, coke products, and frozen dinners. </p>
<p>Doing laundry, at usually 1-2 loads a week, uses about $50 a quarter, and so I use most of the $100 buckid money each quarter.</p>
<p>125 is the perfect amount. They introduced it the other year because 100 is too little and 150 too much. (This is coming from someone who rarely ate out when I lived in the dorms.) </p>
<p>It doesn’t sound like enough, but it really is. You can get 150 autumn quarter just to be safe if you want.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your help. I guess we will go with the 125, and see how it goes.</p>