On Campus Apartment Living

<p>I'm going into my 2nd year and my 3rd year friend ask me to move in with him into his on campus apartment. Since the apartment is quite a bit more expensive than the regular dorm, I opted out of getting a meal plan. Meaning that I will have to make all my meals myself. </p>

<p>I was just wondering how that works out. We only have one kitchen, I feel like it will be awkward taking turns using the kitchen. </p>

<p>I just need some general on campus apartment living tips please and thank you. </p>

<p>I wouldn’t opt out from entire meal plan. Rather would love to have meal plan like 8 meals per week or such? in that way, you can cook at your kitchen once a day if you want to or have enough meals to get through the normal weekdays if you can have breakfast with cereal, oatmeal fruits etc. that way you would be able to offset the cost of living while managing time for study. </p>

<p>anyway, if he doesn’t have a meal plan, you may want to share cooking. If you need to use the kitchen separately, then you’ll probably have to wait if someone else is cooking or if you’re cooking, someone else has to wait. it isn’t a big deal really.</p>

<p>Like the previous post, I think its beneficial that you don’t opt completely out of a meal plan. Living on campus allows you to have a closer distance to the commons which will save time on those days that you do not want to cook. </p>

<p>Honestly, if you feel comfortable in sharing meals with your friends, it’s the best way to be the most efficient in using the kitchen. I never felt comfortable in sharing meals with my apartment-mates, so the five of us had to take turns using the kitchen, so I tried to cook during the times they were in class or were not eating, so the kitchen wouldn’t have to be so crowded.</p>

<p>Me and my roommates never really had issues sharing. Everyone ends up on a different schedule, some people get meal plans or eat out a lot, some are lazy and like to microwave. But it’s not like they’ll be total strangers or anything, chances are you’ll all be friends after a couple weeks. And the kitchen is probably big enough that two or three of you can be in there at once anyways.</p>

<p>As for meal plans… depends on your school, honestly. For my school, eating out constantly would’ve been cheaper than getting a meal plan. I ended up cooking a lot anyways, but price-wise it was cheaper not to bother with meal points. But that depends on your school and the surrounding area. Either way you should have some sort of back-up for the days when you’re too busy/lazy to cook.</p>

<p>Man… you are in for a threat.
Just say, if you do not have a meal plan you will be malnourished.
The time to cook healthy meals other than noodles will not be that available for you.
That’s why living on campus and having a meal plan is more of a convenience than anything else.
I would say, get a partial meal plan, say the 7 meals a week or so, so you can be guaranteed at-least on healthy meal a day.
You can have cereals at home, and then get your lunches at the cafeteria, and go home to eat noodles for dinner.
Either way, its going to add a bit stress to you daily routine without a normal 14 to 21 meal plan a week.
I really do not see a need for off-camus housing if it is not affordable than the dorms.
So either move back to the dorms or get a 14/week meal plan.
bets of luck to you.</p>

<p>The cheapest meal plan at my college is $2k a semester. I can’t come up with that much money lol. But yeah I guess we’ll just take turns. I’m up for sharing stuff and cooking together and junk, but I don’t think he is. He is a kinda keep to himself type of person. Oh well. Thanks for the advice so far! </p>

<p>Question though, what are some cheap quick meals I could make for dinner? </p>

<p>split it then lol. 1K per semester. with someone else.</p>

<p>Our meal plans can’t be split like that…</p>

<p>Does your school have their own cash system that can be used for almost anything on campus? For instance, I can add points to both my kids’ college ID card that can be used at the bookstore, laundry, vending machines and dining halls. They do charge tax when you buy food, unlike meal plans, but they don’t expire at the end of the semester. My older one lives in an on-campus apt. Sometimes he’ll cook, sometimes he’ll order out. Most times, he’ll pick up something at one of the dining halls before coming back to the apt. I think eventually you’ll work out a system of when to use the kitchen, like way you guys will work out a bathroom/shower schedule, etc.</p>

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<p>This is ridiculous. I spent four years at MIT, three of them as a varsity athlete, and most semesters taking above the average credit load, all living in dorms without a meal plan. And all of them eating better food than I would have had I eaten in a dining hall. Your parents likely work full-time jobs, manage a household, raise children AND somehow manage to prepare your meals. Do you really think that a college student is so much busier?</p>

<p>Anyhow, I doubt it will be awkward to share a kitchen with just one other person. In my dorm, kitchens were shared with a bare minimum of 4 others, and I never really had a problem. Stoves almost always have four burners, and if necessary, it’s pretty easy to share oven space. We occasionally had to talk about the oven schedule in my kitchen, but it was never something that we needed to plan way in advance. You just walked into the kitchen, saw someone cooking something that would likely require the oven, and asked them about their plans. If they’re planning a quick broil, which is how I usually cook, you would probably use the oven after them, If they’ve got a longer bake, see if the temperatures you and your roommate need can be worked out.</p>

<p>Ideas for quick cheap meals</p>

<p>Breakfast - cereal’s obviously a go to, but I like something warm. I usually cook oatmeal in a double boiler. The process is calm and predictable enough that I actually take a shower and get dressed while it’s on the stove. Just set the stove to low-to-medium heat and it’ll be done in about a half-hour. I sprinkle it with a bit of turbinado sugar, a bit of nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon, then add sunflower seeds and dried cranberries, or blueberries and chopped hazelnuts, or dried mixed fruit and walnuts. Really, have it however you want. If I have a ton of time in the morning, I will make an omelette. I broil up some veggies in the oven, then get my egg game on.</p>

<p>Lunch - usually you’ll be eating this out, so it’s good to have something to go. My go-to is a sandwich. I like herbed turkey & mozzarella, with a generous spread of mustard and as much arugula as I can fit. Bring an apple, maybe a yogurt or some almonds with you, and you’re good to go. If I want to mix it up, I bring an arugula or spinach salad in tupperware. I usually top my salads with roasted peppers and feta cheese, or with poached eggs and dried berries, or occasionally with suitable leftovers. Eg: if I made salmon a while back, I can turn the salmon into a oniony, red-peppery salmon salad. For a vegan option, I love a no-cook white and black bean salad over nutty farro, drizzled with a lemon vinaigrette and topped with a mountain of cilantro.</p>

<p>Dinner - this is actually the meal I’m the worst at making consistently. I often opt for bigger versions of the same salads I had as lunch. Sometimes I add in roasted chickpeas. I might have a warm sandwich of roasted tomatoes or peppers on Italian bread, spread with this really great raw pesto from Whole Foods. Pasta, in a quick home made sauce that I pull together with broiled tomatoes, garlic, and, from time to time, cream, is a go-to. Whitefish cooks up quickly, and is good with a citrus honey sauce. If I’m watching Game of Thrones, I really like to have fried tofu with Trader Joe’s frozen gyoza. If I have a heavy week, I might marinate and bake some skinless, boneless chicken thighs on Sunday. I then have them throughout the week with rice from my rice maker (a very quick fix) plus some quickly sauteed onions and spinach. Some occasional meals that I like to make include Indian lamb dishes (super time consuming, but I make enough to last a week), chicken pot pie, turkey shepherd’s pie, and gnocchi - either traditional or butternut squash. Butternut gnocchi in a goat cheese sage sauce is amazing, by the way! Another super easy long lasting go-to is any quiche. I like to make my own crusts, which takes a bit more time, but if you buy the frozen crust, you pretty much just throw meats, cheeses and veggies into the egg/milk mix and bake.</p>

<p>Dessert - I’m not huge on dessert, but an easy dish I tried out recently was a (vegan) coconut dulce de leche. You literally jut let coconut milk and sugar sit on the stove in a big sauce pan and four hours or so later you have noms. Top with warm pineapple and roasted coconut. Also, if you’re buying/making pie crusts anyway for quiches, try out a pie! Or a crumble, which is like pie but quicker.</p>

<p>Snacks - I avoid buying snacks so that I don’t end up eating them, but I keep popcorn kernels to pop on the stove. Usually in safflower oil. I also love dried seaweed.</p>

<p>I usually spend a little over $30 a week on groceries. You’ll spend more if you’re setting up a kitchen because spices are hella expensive. Not to mention tools. </p>

<p>I’m not going to say I didn’t eat out in college. I did, and I loved it. But, I was usually eating fairly healthy options, and even if I ate a ton of lunches out, my total food costs were still way lower than a meal plan would be. Just prioritize what you have out. When I realized what great coffee I could make in my kitchen, by using beans that were roasted the day before I bought them and grinding them only seconds before they went into my French press, I stopped spending lots of money on the bitterness they sell at Starbucks. My bag of beans may have cost $13 but it lasted me two weeks; I’d spend at least $60 buying those coffees out.</p>

<p>THANK YOU SO MUCH @Millancad That helped me out a lot and made me feel better. I agree with the building up a kitchen thing. I’m trying to do that right now and it is coming out to be kinda pricey. I’m trying to make a list and get a basic idea of some of the dishes I’ll make regularly. </p>