New Students Beware of Meal Plan!!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Virginia Tech
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<p>All new students or current students beware of this so this doesn't happen to you.</p>

<p>Meal plans are designed to scam you! The food and dinning facilities are the best but their meal plans are not. </p>

<p>Beware that when you purchase a meal plan, whether or not you have money left at the end of the fall semester that WILL roll over, you HAVE TO buy an additional plan for the spring semester in order to use your roll over dollars.</p>

<p>They will not tell you that and it is not anywhere in writing as of yet.</p>

<p>I didn't learn this until my senior year the hard way.</p>

<p>This last semester tech took $200 from me. I paid $500 for a $250 meal plan which is their smallest since I live off campus. I didn't eat on campus as much as I had thought so I decided to not add additional dollars for the spring semester since I was told my dollars roll over. However when I went to eat on campus in the Spring, my card didn't work. I went to the Student Services/hokie passport office and they told me since I had not added an additional $250 for the spring, my dollars I had saved from the spring semester were null. They were still on my account but I was not able to use them since I had not paid for an additonal plan. I was not told this or aware of this and I couldn't ask for my $200 back since I couldn't use it and I had no reason to pay $500 to add another $250 just to be able to use that money again.</p>

<p>My parents called to question them about this and basically they told them that I could only get that money back with a lawyer. </p>

<p>So basically I had no choice and had to let it go and also couldn't eat on campus. They basically robbed me.</p>

<p>Just beware that when you purchase a meal plan, whether or not you have money left at the end of the fall semester that will roll over, you HAVE TO buy an additional plan for the spring semester in order to use your roll over dollars.</p>

<p>In my case I had a lot of roll over dollars $200 and thought that could get me through the Spring since I eat on campus once or twice a week. I couldn't use that $200 since I didn't purchase/add more money to it.</p>

<p>Also they like to lead you to think your saving money by purchasing a meal plan since everything is 50% off when you buy it. However when you go to pay for it online (or ask your parents) you'll find that your paying $1000 for a $500 Mega/Major flex plan. So your basically paying the full price regardless, your just paying it early which works against you if you end up not eating as much as you had thought. </p>

<p>Just beware of this and it's not common knowledge among a lot of new students but is for other students.</p>

<p>You'll find that many students elect to put on dinning dollars which is basically an ATM account for meals. That is the best approach since you have full control over that money and they don't touch it or take it until after you graduate or resign. You don't get 50% off when paying for a meal or food item but you never get 50% off in the first place, however you have the added benefit of being free from the meal plan/scam system and can add money as you need it and not risk wasting any.</p>

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<p>They told me that the money didn’t roll over many, many times, and I honestly didn’t know that anyone didn’t know that. It’s why they have the big sales where you can buy entire boxes of candy bars or drinks or whatever at the end of the year.</p>

<p>In fact, if you scroll down to “Meal Plans” on this site it is clearly communicated: <a href=“Hokie Passport Services | Virginia Tech”>Hokie Passport Services | Virginia Tech;
They didn’t rob you, they set the dining plans up in a specific way, told you how it would be and then executed it as described. It’s set up that way basically so that people don’t do what you were trying to; use meal plan money for two semesters while only paying the overhead for one.</p>

<p>But yeah, the money doesn’t roll over from spring semester to fall semester, and it doesn’t roll over from fall to spring unless you buy a meal plan for spring semester. So be aware of that when the end of the year rolls around.</p>

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<p>No, money doesn’t roll over from the end of the spring semester to the following year, I’ve known that for years. However money DOES roll over from the fall semester to the spring semester. However what I didn’t know, and almost everyone I talked to didn’t know (even my roommates) until recently is that you if you don’t add more money in December for the Spring semester regardless of whether you have lots of roll over money or not, you won’t be able to use that money at all.</p>

<p>Most people use up all their dollars in the fall and have to add more money/buy another plan anyway.</p>

<p>In previous years, I’ve always used up my money in the fall and bought another one in the spring except for this past year. </p>

<p>But what isn’t right is that it’s not like students are scamming the school by doing that, it’s just saving money that everyone has a right to. Maybe you just didn’t eat on campus a lot as much as you thought in which you SHOULD have a right to use the roll over money since it apparently does roll over anyway and if you run out early or short then that’s that.</p>

<p>But from Virginia Tech’s perspective, it’s not a revenue bringer so they have to design it in a way as to funnel in more money (i.e. students more likely to have left over dollars since they aren’t allowed to save) in which the only solution for students is to buy 50 pizzas or be forced to “donate” that money to the school which is just wasting money and food anyway. </p>

<p>What was puzzling is that I saw on my vt account that $200 was still there in my plan, but whenever I scanned my card It wouldn’t go through only to find out that it wasn’t using my roll over money I saved from the Fall because I needed to add additional money. Where as they could have just $0 my account and it wouldn’t have been as confusing. It’s like the money is there and right in front of you in your account but it’s locked down/ and you can’t do anything about it. </p>

<p>Basically it’s like the bank telling you you can’t access your own money in your own account unless you put more in there. </p>

<p>What is widely known is that they take whatever is left in there at the end of the Spring semester since it doesn’t roll over. However what isn’t known is that even though money rolls over from the fall, it’s useless unless you pay for another plan for the spring on top of your roll over dollars even if you have $200+ of roll over dollars. </p>

<p>When I signed up for the plan, NO WHERE was this mentioned. No terms of service or anything. Perhaps if you hunt down the information only after this happens to you, it’s somewhere (for legal reasons) but the entire meal system is clearly designed against you.</p>

<p>So basically only get a plan if you eat on campus ALL the time. But even then, there’s no real reason, just add $500 to dinning dollars so at least you can add money at any time and best of all, IT STAYS THERE!</p>

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<p>***ALSO for hokie passports, once you put money on there, you can’t withdraw money out of there like a debit/atm card. Hokie passport money stays on there but you have to use it up over your time at tech or you loose that money too. I know some students who have resigned and had lots of money on their hokie passport. </p>

<p>That’s understandable I guess since Virginia Tech isn’t a bank but it’s normal for people to think that you should be able to withdraw money/cash out of your hokie passport account…you can’t.</p>

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<p>Sounds like you’ve learned a valuable lesson on reading the directions/fine print. Thanks for pointing it out for others.</p>

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<p>Although this is a level of truth to what you say I would like to mention there is some information you skipped over that anyone reading this should know about.</p>

<p>Although the original meal plan you have from the semester doesn’t carry over if you don’t purchase a new one, that is not to say you have to get a Minor flex plan (the 500+ dollar meal plan) in order to use that. There is another option called ‘commuter cash’ that costs you 201 dollars, and they put 201 dollars on your card. This money does NOT get any discount, however it does allow you to utilize the money from the first semester. This is a good deal if you have anything more than 20 dollars rollover (because that’s the technical discount you’re getting from adding to dining dollars instead.) Dining dollars is an option for off campus students that gives them a tax free and 5 percent off deal on any on campus location.</p>

<p>Also I think somewhere you stated that the meal plan was a hoax in some regard because they charge you over twice as much for what you get then only give a 50% discount. This is also ‘somewhat’ true. Say you pay 1200 dollars for your plan, but only get 500. 700 is taken out as a base cost to keep the establishments running, where as the other 500 is for the food. Okay so that’s 500 doubled which gives you only 1000. Two hundred less than what you paid. So why not just use dining dollars? That’s a 5 % discount added to whatever you use plus it stays on until you graduate.
Well two reasons, one you’re getting a 50% at al la carte locations such as owens, ABP, and HokieGrill… but, at D2 and shultz (all you can eat) you actually get a 67% discount on your meals. So what costs me 9.00 dollars to swipe in, people with meal plans only pay 3 dollars off their plan. So if you eat at one of those locations every day you could theoretically triple your money on the card. 500 x 3 = 1500 - 1200 = 300 dollars of savings. The second thing is that if you buy a major or mega plan (not the minor) any additional money you add continues to get this discount. Another additional fact you should know is that the meal plan is priced at 10 meals a week, so if you eat consistently on campus, you SHOULD go over. This program is catered towards students who eat frequently on campus and FAVORS those that are looking to eat at D2 or Shultz more often than not.
The simple fact is each meal plan has advantages, and there is a purpose for all of them. If there wasn’t, the university wouldn’t keep them. First and foremost is getting students interested in the university; they’re trying to get you to pay too much for a piece of paper, not for a number of meals a year.
It might take a bit of looking up but it’s not that complicated, I’m in Industrial Design not marketing or statistics but I understand it. (not meant to offend anyone, it’s more of a self-slander)
If anyone needs help trying to select a meal plan that works best for them or if my explanation didn’t help, just feel free to ask. Although I preach about how easy it is, I will admit that’s it is not the easiest find so I’m definitely willing to help.</p>

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<p>^ Luyendijk had a pretty good explanation.</p>

<p>In my opinion, Tech has the best meal plan options out of most of the public schools in Virginia. I’m pretty sure the meal plans are the cheapest too. And overall it’s just a pretty good deal. If you think it’s a scam, you’d be waaay worse off at UVA, VCU, ODU, or GMU.</p>

<p>Also, I knew even before I was accepted to Tech that meal plans only rolled over if another one was bought during the spring semester.</p>

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<p>Virginia Tech also has the best food. Well, somewhere between 1st and 3rd.</p>

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<p>Our son chose the basic plan and then we added a couple hundred dollars to it in November. As a freshman, we really did not know how much he was going to eat. He came home for winter break with just over $1 left – haha. We could not figure out any advantage to buying the Mega plan and not being able roll over dollars.</p>

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<p>We bought the basic for DD and in the end of her fall semester she was buying trays of rice krispy treats because they told her it would not roll over.</p>

<p>VT meal plan is like any other college of this size in the country. </p>

<p>They are no better and no worse. You just need to determine how much food they really eat.</p>

<p>Our DD eats about 2 meals a day, she is not a 3 big meal a day person, so she had a ton of money left over and that is why the basic plan worked well for her.</p>

<p>What I find interesting is that Chaz stated it took them @ 4 yrs to figure out the system. Two things jump into my mind with that comment.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>4 yrs? Seriously, the way the system is set up is by semesters, not annually.</p></li>
<li><p>The avg VT student does not live on campus for 4 yrs because of dorm availability, thus, how many seniors are still living on campus and eating there? Few!</p></li>
</ol>

<p>For incoming students just be realistic. If you don’t eat breakfast than you probably would be better off with the min plan and more Hokie bucks. If you eat 3 meals a day than go for the max plan.</p>

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<p>These are some valid problems that everyone should keep in mind but I just want to remind those on campus that they don’t have to stress this. The Major flex plan covers about 10 meals a week and the mega plan covers about 12:</p>

<p>[Student</a> Programs - Virginia Tech - Dining Guide](<a href=“http://www.studentprograms.vt.edu/diningguide/major.php]Student”>http://www.studentprograms.vt.edu/diningguide/major.php)</p>

<p>Now as a freshman, or anybody else living on campus, you will NOT have the OPs problem. Where as the OP eats most of their meals off campus you will eat the vast majority of yours on campus. So unless you only eat 10-12 meals a week, and as a college kid I highly doubt it, you will need to add money on your account anyway. your problem will be “do I have enough money” and not the “I have too much money” scenario. Now I’m not exactly the best example but I had the major flex plan and then went through another $400 on top of that in flex monies(I eat 4-5 meals a day and will get a milkshake around once a week) in 1 semester. My roomate calls me a fat ass for it but point is unless your some strict diet person you will easily run through your meal plans… I mean come on and do the math. 12 meals a week means 1.7 meals a day. Who the hell does that?! Don’t sweat about having too much money.</p>

<p>Now for those of you who are OFF campus the issues that the OP brought up are valid points that need to be considered. Don’t splurge, Plan accordingly. Maybe only add flex dollars in $100 increments.</p>

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<p>Just a few more points to add:</p>

<p>Whether you are on OR off campus…use those charts in the dining hall! They’re there for a reason, so if you are over/under…you can plan accordingly about the next semester. (Mostly if you’re over…find a way to spend the flex for the current semester then downgrade the next!)</p>

<p>The OP’s problem is a bit rare, I think. There are MANY opportunities to find out how the meal plan works! I, personally, got at least 3 emails from Dining Services this semester, not including the last email. The last email (don’t know if they sent it out before this semester) explained everything as clear as possible…and clearly stated that you need to buy a qualifying meal plan (Minor, Major, Mega, or Premium) to use whatever flex rolled over. Not only that, I heard it at Orientation, I heard it at an information session, and I heard it at a day for accepted students in my college back in April. I don’t see why the OP and his friends didn’t know this.</p>

<p>Friends of mine who lived off campus had the Major meal plan (the default plan for freshman/students in dorms) and they were out of flex by Thanksgiving Break. I had the minor meal plan, and I think I might upgrade it for next semester. (I’m probably one of the scrawniest/smallest people you’ll meet because I don’t eat enough, so yeah, that’s saying something.) If you live off campus, the only reason you’ll have trouble with your meal plan is if you like to cook at your apartment, like McDonalds or Taco Bell (since those are the only kinds of foods that the dining hall doesn’t really come close to), or like to go to restaurants. Or if you’re just too lazy to go to campus to eat. Other than that, you still shouldn’t have problems if you plan accordingly.</p>

<p>Also, apparently over 9,000 off campus students at Tech continue to buy meal plans after they leave the dorms. They must be doing something right, so really, it’s far from a scam.</p>

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<p>I got a meal plan my first year off campus (major) but not the second. It really is a good idea to learn to cook for yourself, although depending on your schedule it may or may not be convenient. The food is awesome though, and if I wouldn’t have had anyone to mooch off of I would have gotten some sort of plan my senior year.</p>

<p>As far as running out of money/having a lot left over, it really depends on your habits. If you eat a lot of salads or cook pretty often you will probably have money left over. If you eat west end every day or eat breakfast on campus much you’ll probably run out. If you have money left over you can spend in on buying stuff in bulk at the end of the year though.</p>

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<p>@chaz0426…""Hokie passport money stays on there but you have to use it up over your time at tech or you loose that money too. I know some students who have resigned and had lots of money on their hokie passport. “”</p>

<p>Not true. From the VT website…"Graduating students or students who are no longer affiliated with the university may be eligible for a refund. A refund request card must be submitted in order to have a refund processed. Refund request cards can be obtained at the Hokie Passport Office. The university will refund the remaining credit balance on your accounts less a $15.00 refund-processing fee. If you are not enrolled as a student and your account has been inactive for twelve consecutive months it will be closed and refunded according to state policy. “”</p>

<p>WRT the meal plans, for off-campus students, the VT dining people told me…and I quote…“the best meal plan is no meal plan”</p>

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<p>Actually yeah, I just ran the numbers and unless you eat at D2 a LOT it’ll be cheaper in the long run to just pay cash.</p>