<p>Considering that the freshman have an unlimited meal plan, does it make sense to rent the microwave/fridge combo? Do they really need it considering they can get food at any time?</p>
<p>The dining halls aren’t open 24/7, so they can’t really get food any time. D1 (frosh last year) missed dinner about once a week because she had class/lab/activity commitments that ran late, and she couldn’t make it to one of the dining halls in time. I’ve never fully understood why she couldn’t use the credit at one of the locations which have takeout food, but that’s water under the bridge. :)</p>
<p>The combo is nice to have for snacks and such, but it’s not necessary.</p>
<p>It isn’t really worth it to rent a microfridge from TSR, but in my opinion, it is worth it to have a fridge. My roommate had one freshman year and I found one left behind at the end of freshman year that I used all of last year with my roommate. The fridges got a fair amount of use, but mostly for stuff that wasn’t 100% essential–hummus, milk, cooling down water and Gatorade. You should be able to get a fridge for no more than $100; split over four years (or even two), I think that’s worth it.</p>
<p>I think most of the dorms have a microwave in a central kitchen somewhere, and I believe hot pots for water (for tea and cocoa) are legal as long as they have an auto shut-off. Both freshman and sophomore year DD had a fridge in her room for late-night drinks, yogurt, and fruit and for milk for cereal in the morning when she wanted to get up to study but did not need to get dressed to go to class until the afternoon.</p>
<p>any thoughts as to what size is good for a fridge? I’m trying to decide between a 1.8 cubic (the more squarish size) or a 3.3 (the rectangular).</p>
<p>The cube holds very little, especially when roommates share it. We got the 2.8 for our older son (who’s since moved off campus but still keeps it in his room) and will probably get that same size for our son heading to Tufts. No real freezer, but the microwave fit nicely right on top of it.</p>
<p>michigangen, keep in mind that Tufts doesn’t allow microwaves that aren’t part of the microfridge unit rented from Tufts Student Resources.</p>
<p>gold221, I would go with the 3.3 personally. I have a 3.0, about a fifth of which is space for the freezer, and even that feels a little small at times.</p>