So D20 was accepted EA, but merit was low compared to her other options. I spreadsheet everything, and one thing that jumped out at me is that the dining plans at Northeastern are almost twice as expensive as any of the other schools she is looking at, including other east coast schools.
I’m not sure anyone is going to be able to explain this, but can someone at least reassure me that the food is decent and they have enough locations / options to make this somewhat worth it?
I understand the housing costs being high given the location, but the meal plan costs are really an outlier.
The first thing I did was decrease my son’s meal plan before he began freshman year. That took the bill down a little and he said it would have been too much food otherwise. Now he is a sophomore and he has a kitchen and is on Co-op, so we have him on 1 meal a day. Junior year he is moving off campus so will not use the school meal plan at all. So this really looks like a bigger issue than it will be, but do not forget to take it down to whatever the freshman plan limit is because they automatically sign you up for the most meals.
As far as quality, he likes the food but gets bored with it. He usually walks to International Village to eat. I have eaten there a few times and thought it was great.
So freshman year you will be assigned 17 meals a week and allowed to drop this to 12. Of course this drops the price too. Always start low, you can increase meals (you won’t need to) but not decrease.
Sophomore year depending on the housing style you can drop further. So really a non-issue beyond freshman year.
They also have Husky dollars you can transfer some too. I get the minimum meal plan every time.
My son was on the 10 meal plan and barely was able to spend those. There are so many food options. As a matter of fact, they can pay “cash” for the dining hall outside the meal plan and it’s cheaper for breakfast and lunch than using swipes.
He went off the meal plan sophomore year since he was in the West Village apartments. Even if your kid doesn’t cook, there are so many (cheaper) food options outside the dining hall.
The meal plan is a rip-off. But my research says the ones at Bentley and Fordham are equally lousy (worse actually because the lowest is 15 meals a week!).