New Meal Plan Prices Released - Buyer Beware

Colleges and Universities A-Z Florida State University
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<p>Aramark has released the prices for their meal plans next year, and I couldn't help but notice that they're doing even more to ripoff incoming Freshmen who don't really know what they're doing. Buyer Beware, and look closely at the details. I'm sure a meal plan apologist will defend the convenience of a meal plan, but that does little to diminish my point.</p>

<p>5 Day All Access Plan: Aramark has been considerate enough to now consider the needs of students that go home for the weekends by offering an unlimited meal plan that can be used just on the weekdays. The problem? It's the exact same price as the 7 day all access plan, only you get 150 dollars more in flex bucks. So, in other words, you can opt out of having access to the dining halls on weekends, and in exchange, you receive 150 flex bucks per semester. If you eat three meals per day, 5 days a week, for 16 weeks, it comes to 6.875 per meal. With 300 flex bucks, this is highly unlikely.</p>

<p>7 Day All Access Plus: Avoid this plan. Look at the price and what you get, and you'll see that it's the exact same as the "economical" meal plan with more flexbucks. There is no discount on the flexbucks, yet they still expire at the end of the year. Anyone who purchases this plan clearly fell for a trap. If you want more flexbucks, buy the 7 day Economical All Access Plan, and buy the garnet bucks as needed. Garnet bucks never expire.</p>

<p>Weekly 14 Plan: If you are actually planning on going to the dining hall a lot, this probably the best option, but 14 meals is a lot... and they don't roll over. Meals in this plan come to $7.366 per meal assuming you use all 14 meals every week for 16 weeks (you probably won't).</p>

<p>Weekly 10 Plan: This is the plan I did as a freshman in Cawthon Hall. Meals in this plan come to $9.3125 per meal assuming you use all 10 meals every week for 16 weeks. Dinners at the dining halls cost $10.49 when using flexbucks, and lunches cost $7.48. Assuming they don't raise the prices, the cost of doing 7 dinners and 3 lunches using flex bucks comes to $9.58 per meal. Change it to 6 dinners and 4 lunches, and it's $9.286 per meal... 5 dinners and 5 lunches comes to $8.985. Again, this assumes they don't increase the price of individual meals, but by doing garnet bucks instead of the weekly 10 plan, you likely will save money and will not be bounded to a meal plan.</p>

<p>150 Block Plan: Comes to $9.933 per meal. Need I say more? This is a ripoff plan that they use to sucker people who are afraid of not being able to have their meals roll over.</p>

<p>They removed the 125 block plan and the 7 per week meal plan, which is good. Those plans were the biggest ripoffs of all, but they also were the cheapest. </p>

<p>Other details to note: You cannot share meals with friends. In other words, you cannot use your meals to pay for a friend, only flex bucks. As I said previously, meals do not roll over, and finally and most importantly, when signing up for a meal plan it is a one year agreement. It is very difficult to get out of a plan for the Spring Semester if you sign up for Fall. Read the terms of service... it sounds like a scam, because it is. I won't even get into the quality of the food. </p>

<p>Please be careful before giving Aramark your money next Fall.</p>

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<p>Can you buy meals at the dining halls with Garnet Bucks if you don’t purchase a meal plan? If so, what would the prices be for breakfast, lunch and dinner? (If you know.)</p>

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<p>Incoming freshman here, how would I sign up for a meal plan (didnt see information on fsu’s site)? Or is that at orientation?</p>

<p>Is it even worth signing up for a meal plan? Doesn’t seem like it, but great thread btw</p>

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<p>Fall 2011-Spring 2012 per meal cash prices: Breakfast $6.99, Lunch $7.99, Dinner $10.99</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.campusdish.com/NR/rdonlyres/35A0D561-D66D-413B-A1C7-0FF4DC3519A5/0/Fall_brochure_pages.pdf[/url]”>http://www.campusdish.com/NR/rdonlyres/35A0D561-D66D-413B-A1C7-0FF4DC3519A5/0/Fall_brochure_pages.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If your residence hall requires a meal plan, then you have to purchase one. If you are living somewhere else, just get Garnet Bucks.</p>

<p>And you can’t sign up for a meal plan before orientation.</p>

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<p>Never mind, I missed those details on my first reading.</p>

<p>(Thanks for the updated prices.)</p>

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<p>will you need a meal plan even if you are not staying in a dorm of FSU?</p>

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<p>No. You can eat anywhere you want to eat. The unlimited meal plans are a good value ONLY if you eat a ton of food and don’t get bored easily.</p>

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<p>Good find Nolette… Keep in mind there is a 50 cent discount on meals when using Garnet Bucks, so my calculations do apply for next year. Unless you want to eat a ton at the dining halls and can take advantage of the weekly 14 or All Access Economical plan, the meal plans are a ripoff which are only sustainable due to people who A. don’t know what they’re doing and B. are required by their residence hall to purchase one.</p>

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<p>No. you don’t even need it if you’re staying ON campus. I ate on campus a couple times a week and still ended up spending less and eating more than my friends with meal plans.</p>

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<p>meal plans are a complete waste… dont bother…</p>

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<p>Let’s not make the incoming freshmen feel like they are targets who have been tricked into buying a meal plan. There are advantages to living in those halls. They do have the best central locations on campus, after all. I chose to be in Landis this past year because it was important for me to be in an honors student environment. I read all about the “ripoff” meal plans but decided that I would have to accept that part of the housing requirement. Others might want to be in Cawthon to be with music students, or in various LLCs, and have made their decisions knowing they had to purchase a meal plan. </p>

<p>If it’s important for you to be in a residence hall that requires a meal plan (Broward, Bryan, Cawthon, Landis, Gilchrist, Jennie or Reynolds), then just look at it as part of your housing cost. You do have to eat, so it really only amounts to a few hundred dollars over what you would have to spend without the plan. It is convenient, and you can try to vary your menu choices so that the boredom doesn’t set in too quickly.</p>

<p>At least the prices haven’t gone up, the All Access was $1950 this past year.</p>

<p>And as Matt mentioned, get Garnet Bucks to get the 50 cent discount on each meal if you don’t have a meal plan.</p>

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<p>I forgot to mention that if you have a terrible priority number, then applying for an LLC is the only way to get on campus housing, and that alone would be worth the cost of a meal plan.</p>

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<p>I’m an incoming freshman and hoping to be in Landis Hall. I don’t want a meal plan but since it’s required do you have any suggestions of which one to get? I don’t really want to have to eat at the dining hall everyday and want to spend as little money on a meal plan as possible. Also, what are the flex bucks and garnet bucks?</p>

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<p>I posted a link (see above post #4) to the PDF Meal Plan brochure. There is little difference between the meal plans. They are either All Access (unlimited visits), meals per week (each week’s allotment expire mid-week, or semester block plans (150 meals per semester, use whenever you want for each semester, they don’t carry over). The cheapest ones are $1890 per semester, and the more expensive ones are $1950 per semester, with various Flex Bucks included. Don’t even consider the 7 day All Access Plus, since it is the same plan as the 7 day All Access, except for $350 additional Flex Bucks for an additional $350! They didn’t even give a discount for ordering extra Flex Bucks!</p>

<p>Flex Bucks can be used at other on-campus restaurants and stores. They will carry over from summer and fall, as long as you still have a meal plan. But they will expire at the end of spring. Garnet Bucks can be used the same way, or for individual meals if you don’t have a meal plan. THEY WILL NOT EXPIRE UNTIL YOU GRADUATE, so they are the way to go. You can order more when you run out, no need to buy too much up front.</p>

<p>The only discount I found was a $200 SAVINGS IF YOU PAY FOR BOTH FALL AND SPRING MEAL PLANS AT ORIENTATION.</p>

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<p>thank you so much! very helpful :)</p>

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<p>Matt, i personally think we should create a Coalition of Florida State Students against Aramark. Should be a hit</p>

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<p>Incoming Freshman here :-P… So I’ve decided on getting Garnet Bucks instead of a meal plan X-D… This is primarily because I just went to orientation and was NOT impressed by the food served at all. It was NOT worth the 1890/semester (the price of the meal plan that I originally intended to purchase) but after some a little research, I’ve decided to do Garnet Bucks this semester and see how it works out for me :-P.</p>

<p>I originally based my meal plan purchase on the fact that I will be staying in Degraff which is quite some distance from both Suwanee and Fresh Food, so I figure I’ll only stop in for food for dinner on my way BACK to my dorm after my last class Monday-Thursday and for lunch and dinner Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I thought a 10 meal/week would be perfect, but now I see, it isn’t :-P. Also, I’m basing this off my current eating habits which is pretty much one square meal/day (dinner :-P) with a few small snacks throughout the day.</p>

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<p>so I have Gilchrist for summer, so I’m pretty sure I have to get a meal plan. I’m thinking about going with the 14/week. should I do this one or go with something else? I’ll probably eat 2 meals a day with ease based off of my current eating habits. I know the quality of the food isn’t great, but the salad bar can’t get too boring, can it? Is the 14/week the best value?</p>

<p>For fall I don’t need a meal plan, so I was looking into getting garnett bucks</p>

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<p>Gilchrist is one of the residence halls that requires a meal plan.</p>

<p>If you actually use it, the 14 meals/week is one of the better deals. You will be sick of the place by the end of the year though, and you will want to request the custodians to leave an extra roll of toilet paper at your door every week.</p>

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<p>Meal plans are NOT required in any hall for the summer! Just get GarnetBucks!</p>