<p>Hi! I'm transferring to Texas A&M in January (I did my first two years at a community college, and I'm just very unhappy with the university I am currently attending). I'm not sure how much I'm going to get in grants/scholarships yet, and I really don't want to take out too many loans. To save money, I'm just not going to get a meal plan (the cheapest meal plan is $1200 a semester). My dorm will not have a community kitchen, but we are allowed to have a mini-fridge and a microwave in our rooms. Do y'all have any tips on surviving living on campus without a meal plan? Everyone I know has a meal plan so they can't really help. Thanks!</p>
<p>You can eat lots of frozen foods that can be cooked in the microwave. They sell frozen meals in a box. One brand that is cheep had has lots of options is lean cuisine. Vegetables like broccoli are also healthiest if cooked in the microwave so that is an advantage. Other good microwavable foods are quesadillas, Mac and cheese, soup, breakfast sausage, chicken nuggets etc. Overall though the food you are able to eat with no stove or oven is very limiting so you might get tired of it after the first month!</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Also, if you’re allowed to has a coffee maker, it’s super easy to make oatmeal and stuff like that with a keurig.</p>
<p>You might want to throw some fresh fruits/veggies in the fridge, too. Frozen ones are also pretty cheap and good. It’s easy to fall into the trap of eating junk all the time, and then you feel like crap. (This makes me a hypocrite, considering my diet. Or you could say I’ve learned from experience.)
I don’t know about A&M, but at my university you are required to have a meal plan if you are living in the dorms. Worth checking that you aren’t required to have one, if you haven’t asked already.</p>
<p>Yep, meal plan is mandatory for on-campus residents at A&M as of 2012.</p>
<p>[Meal</a> plans mandatory in 2012 - News - The Battalion - Texas A&M](<a href=“http://www.thebatt.com/news/meal-plans-mandatory-in-2012-1.1642472#.Uopcbvnkt8E]Meal”>http://www.thebatt.com/news/meal-plans-mandatory-in-2012-1.1642472#.Uopcbvnkt8E)</p>
<p>Since you are transferring as a junior, though, it looks like an $800 plan will be available to you.</p>