<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I’m a rising sophomore who will be living in one of the college dorms this year. I was wondering if it would be possible to go off meal plan (despite the fact that I’m not off-campus). I read or heard something that led me to think that this was indeed possible, so I just wanted to confirm.</p>
<p>you can go off meal plan while living in the dorms sophomore year and beyond. I had friends that did it.</p>
<p>The off campus meal plan advertised by thayer places is a total sham though, don’t do that. The brown university off campus meal plan that gives you 1 meal/day plus a bunch of flex points was the best value of all the meal plans offered when I was there (but you have to be out of university housing to be eligible).</p>
<p>It depends on a number of factors. Where you are living (re how really usable the kitchen (s) are? How well you cook/(Can you really eat healthy?) What your roommate(s) are doing and how much having a bunch of food in your room etc is going to be a problem? Most students don’t do this unless they have dietary problems (celiac, strict vegan etc.) or really are into cooking. And do you mind being "one of those weird anti social people that the rest of your hall minds how you smell everything up? Can you keep everything really clean? Ie no weird leftovers in the kitchen fridge? No dirty dishes left/ EVER?
Most people living in dorms find it best to at least have a minimum meal plan. So you can eat in dining halls with friends occasionally; so the Blue Room food doesn’t seem so overpriced you don’t feel you can go there; so your parents won’t worry.</p>
<p>^
true. I should have said: while you definitely CAN go off meal plan, I would never recommend it.</p>
<p>Yeah, I would only recommend going entirely off meal plan if you’re off-campus or in a dorm that has a real kitchen (not a shared hall kitchen), such as the Young O apartments, or if you’re in one of the program houses that have a kitchen. You could go on a reduced meal plan, though, and plan to make up the rest by “cooking” simpler things like sandwiches.</p>
<p>My son went off meal plan while living in the dorms. He had a mini-fridge with a freezer as well as a microwave that could also function as an oven. He had a number of friends who were also off the meal plan, and they would use the zipcar to go grocery shopping (Walmart or ShopRite (I think that is the name)) every few weeks. He had a friend who used the kitchen in the dorm a lot for her cooking, although he didn’t use it much at all. And sometimes he gets a meal on Thayer. He is very glad he did it and wishes he would have done it earlier. Once you commit to the meal plan, you have to continue for the whole year (I think). I think the minimum meal plan is pricey so you would have more options putting that money towards meals on Thayer.</p>