Current GW student. J Street was laughable at best as a dining hall and everyone I know is happy that we have the new meal plan. I am waaaay under budget for our meal plan (I’ve spent about $720 which works out to $14.40 a day) but I eat five servings of fruits and veggies a day, am vegetarian and am a college athlete who runs 70 miles a week. Students who can’t budget at all are the ones eating ramen in their dorms. I know of a girl who spent $1,000 in the first two months but she ate at expensive restaurants every weekend. The meal plan makes me feel like an adult. BTW Whole Foods isn’t that expensive if you know what to buy.
@patriot420 Thanks for chiming in. I knew I wasn’t the only one that thought the meal plan doable.
Yes, I appreciate this data point as well. However, I think that “some people find the meal plan doable” is a pretty low bar.
@yotommy You say “some people” as if those of us that haven’t had a problem are in the minority. On the contrary, you’ve got two alum/current students in here saying they manage just fine, and a parent that said their student is also doing fine. While I agree that this can be a frustrating and unknown experience, especially compared to “traditional” schools, it’s a minor hump that most students will overcome rather quickly.
Pro-tip: Buy frozen fruit and vegetables. Frozen fruit is sweet and has the same nutritional value as fresh, I eat two bags a day for six dollars. Cook your frozen veggies (in Potomac/Thurston if you avoid the kitchen from 7:30-9:00 you should be fine and cooking broccoli takes five minutes). Also NEVER buy pre-made meals from Whole Foods/Au Bon Pain/etc unless you are in a big rush.
@patriot420, @NHuffer, I couldn’t agree more that it’s doable by “some people,” but I’m not sure my 18 year old son is one of those people, LOL. He is learning to be, but he has never been in charge of buying his own food, other than restaurant meals. He knows how to cook, he can fend for himself just fine, but he’s 6’4", not a vegetarian, not particularly motivated to eat super healthy, not an athlete, so I still say it’s challenging to keep the daily costs under $17/day every week. I do not, however, look at this as a negative of GW, but rather a positive! As you said @patriot420, it makes you feel like (and act like) an adult. So it’s all part of the learning process. I just think DC is an expensive place to learn this lesson and it’s not an easy lesson for everyone. I think back to my days of stumbling downstairs to the dorm cafeteria in my jammies and loading up on the unlimited salad bar, etc. Super easy, no added expense, but did I grow up any? No. Btw, lest you think we’re soft parents who spoil our child (which we have done in so many ways yes), there is no other option for him but to make the budget work, and if it means ramen, so be it until he learns. There’s no more money from us.
My child is a senior and still waiting to see where she gets admitted, but I would like her to be able to stumble downstair in her jammies to eat. She is one of those on the go kids who will skip meals if they are too much trouble. Does she have to learn to take responsibility about eating well? Yes, but she will be learning a lot about being independent and doesn’t need to learn everything at once.
@MissAlice Being able to stumble downstairs in your pjs to eat is going to rule out a lot of colleges. Very, very few have a dining hall in each dorm. Wellesley is the only one I can think of.
@MissAlice
I agree with doschicos. To be able to stumble downstairs in the jammies, your daughter will have to be in a small liberal arts college. Larger universities and larger colleges do not necessarily have this option. Even at Wellesley not all dorms have dinning rooms. For a small liberal arts college Wellesley has 4 dinning halls[!!!], I think and at least one does not operate over the weekends [expensive to run a dinning hall].
@MissAlice West Hall at GW would afford her that opportunity. Further, it’s in the less-desirable Mount Vernon Campus (not that there’s anything wrong with it- it’s where I lived my freshman year), so if she requests it specifically she’ll be nearly guaranteed to get it. That way she can concentrate less on meals her freshman year but still have all the opportunities in subsequent years to “fend for herself” when in the main campus. Don’t know if this is helpful but I wanted to share.
I would like to comment on this again after having opportunity to really speak with my son, who is a freshman, while he was home over break. This meal plan really does work and it is quite cost effective and healthy. My son eats great food. He goes to Chopt, Burger Tap and Shake, the GW deli , Whole Foods, Roti.etc. He is eating a variety of foods, snacking very little and has managed the money on his GWorld card very well. At the beginning of December, with only 3 weeks left in the semester, he has over $500 left in his account (starting balance was $1900). Being that there are so many great restaurants in the meal plan, if he had a traditional cafeteria plan, he would have had to spend his own money to enjoy these restaurants and Whole Foods, and purchase “stuff” from CVS. He does use a reusable water bottle to cut down on the cost of bottled water and he doesn’t spend money at Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, but he eats well. My only complaint is that at the beginning of the year, this plan was socially isolating and he ended up eating alone too often. Otherwise, it really does work.
thanks for that update @wenronian it’s helpful.
I participated in a free 3 week summer program over the summer and LOVED the dining. We had the <$17 budget too, but I found it to be stupid easy. 1 chipotle bowl ($7 and can be 2 meals if needed), 1 roti salad ($8), and a granola bar from whole foods ($1 per day) made it super easy. I understand it’s not always convenient to walk to Dupont to get Chipotle, or eating the same thing gets boring but I had no problem.
I went to a scholarship program at Georgetown and hated the traditional dining hall.
@NHuffer I totally agree. I saw a lot of people blowing out their money just by not being smart. If you load up on the whole foods hot bar, of course it will be super pricey. Super excited to hear back and join the GW Class of 2021.
Is this just a temporary solution while they build new dining halls? I went to
grad school at GW so was well versed in wandering down Pa Ave. in search of fast food for lunch or an early dinner. However, I would think for an
18 year old freshman, eating dinner at Subway or Chipotle, rather than making friends in a dining hall could be somewhat demoralising.
@polichick13 Putting up with that routine for 3 weeks is definitely easier than longer term. Also, I doubt many males or athletes could make a Chipotle bowl into 2 meals or survive on 2 salads and a granola bar.
@doschicos Just saying what worked for me. I know many current students at GW who feel similarly.
I am a freshman and I like the meal plan. If have more than enough money, and I can eat healthy everyday.
I’m pretty surprised how freshmen (or indeed anyone with access to a kitchen) would find the current meal plan sufficient. As a sophomore I had $1250 a semester with a kitchen, which was fine ultimately, but a kitchen was crucial to the budgeting.
Also the new dining options are pretty lackluster. J-Street was overpriced, and it seems that the new venues won’t be much different. Wise guys opened two weeks ago, and it’s special is $9.69 for 2 slices of pizza + a drink. The sad thing is that’s not expensive relative to DC!
I really enjoy my time at GW and have no regrets coming here, but it’s an expensive place to live and the current GW administration doesn’t make it easier.
I’m curious if there has been updates on plans for a dining hall on the main campus or if the Mount Vernon Campus will be the only option for a dining hall. The dining hall is a deal breaker for me due to my son’s GI issues. He needs easy access to healthy calorie heavy meals like the ones served in traditional dining halls. He has been to three camps on college campuses and liked the dining hall experience. We have a visit scheduled for AU, Georgetown and GW, but I’m wondering if I should bother with GW.