<p>Very nice illegal tips 
I will keep them handy somewhere xD</p>
<p>Sometimes I just ate food like, outside of the dining area, before the cashiers -_-</p>
<p>Isnāt it sad that your parents are paying like $500 a month for your food for the āregularā dining option (they are, I worked it out once) and yet you donāt get three meals a day and if you are actually hungry like a normal person and donāt spend an extra $100-200 on take out, you have to literally resort to stealing/hiding food? Itās a bit messed upā¦they literally expect you to pay $600-700 a month to eat three meals a day. For that cost you could go to Platoās diner for breakfast, subway for lunch, and hanami japanese restaurant for dinner as your de facto meal plan and probably actually save moneyā¦</p>
<p>Honestly I donāt think students would steal if the meal plans were adequate. Plenty of people here are saying they have points left overā¦do you think people with points left over are smuggling food out of the diner? Heck no. For $500 a month the meal plan really should be adequate. Itās pretty messed upā¦but I guess tuition is cheapā¦relativelyā¦</p>
<p>Unless youāre out of state. Or even ISā¦if I had gone to a SUNY I would have payed 5,000 a year.</p>
<p>I mean, UMCPs out of state costs are still cheaper than OOS costs for UVa, the UCs, or various other top public schools. </p>
<p>For IS students, they rank about right in the middle of the pack.</p>
<p>So when is the first focus date, and do they āwarnā the kids in some way or show them how to figure out what they have left? Iām pretty sure my kid is clueless about this. Heās a big eater, and I put him on the big eater plan, but I noticed recently that he has spent no Terpbucks at all (do those get taken away as well?) and Iām wondering how that can even be since I know he eats at the cafe in the b-school which only takes Terpbucksā¦</p>
<p>^ I think everything you need is right here. The first focus date is this Friday.</p>
<p>[University</a> of Maryland Dining Services Focus Dates](<a href=āhttp://dining.umd.edu/dining/resident/new/focus]Universityā>http://dining.umd.edu/dining/resident/new/focus)</p>
<p>Thanks Pluma,</p>
<p>So if I read correctly, the Focus Dates are for the Points only and it does not matter how many Terpbucks you still have?</p>
<p>Thanks!!</p>
<p>P.S. I just figured out what your screen name means so I guess I should either call you plum, or your whole name, or just āaristocratāā¦haha</p>
<p>rtr - <a href=āhttps://dsonline.umd.edu/student/form/main.php[/url]ā>https://dsonline.umd.edu/student/form/main.php</a>
give him that link and youāre set
and yeah terp bucks arenāt affected by focus dates</p>
<p>The only warning they give you is they have a small sign in the Diner when each focus date is approaching. </p>
<p>However, no one at the university ever explained to me once that there was even such a thing as focus points/dates. And a lot of the other freshman I talked to didnāt know either. No one ever told us. Somethingās not right there. They talked to us about dining at orientation, but didnāt mention it.</p>
<p>The focus dates are stupid. They should tell you the minimum amount of points you ought to have, not the maximum, so you know if youāre overspending or not. </p>
<p>Iām on an apartment plan and I think I can spend around $10 a day which is pretty good since I usually get lunch and maybe a coffee each day. Definitely recommend getting water and not soda, and always always always get the dine-in plates and glasses (unless of course youāre taking the food to go). If Iām not mistaken thereās an extra to-go charge and it adds up quickly.</p>
<p>Thereās a charge of 25 cents each time you take food out. I think itās supposed to be by container, but almost every cashier will only charge you the quarter once.
Drinks donāt have the charge, but the paper cups are more because their larger.</p>
<p>^ Actually, that depends on the cashier. I was able to use a large paper cup (for water) and not get charged at all.</p>
<p>No water doesnāt count. Itās always free.</p>
<p>Let me guess, thatās a common way people steal too, right? Putting soft drinks in water cups?</p>
<p>lol no. there are no cups specifically for waterā¦that would be really weird if there was. all ācarry outā cups are the standard pepsi/coffee cups. they usually always check to see whatās in it, and if youāre eating at the diner you can use the glasses provided, soā¦</p>
<p>But putting soft drinks in a solid color water bottle and sticking back in your backpackā¦</p>
<p>Still, taking something clear like spriteā¦ >.>
And lol @ginab.</p>
<p>Yeah whenever I get sprite they always ask me if itās soda or water. I tell the truth, but I could just as easily say itās water.</p>
<p>One time I got charged for soda because the water dispenser (the one thatās a combination soda/water dispenser) put a little bit of fruit punch in the mix, so it looked kinda pink.</p>
<p>And the strategy of just walking out of the entrance wonāt work anymore since they have a register there now ;)</p>
<p>It works on South Campus still. They even have a handy wall they put there.</p>