@youcee I think our 17ers are on the same campus. Mine also sent me a text about the salmon for dinner. Meanwhile her dad and I are eating leftover chili reheated in the microwave :0
@13thFloor I see from a previous post they are both at UCLA. Somehow they have figured out the formula of how to feed the kids really well, with healthy options for a price that is comparable to other schools. I donāt know why other schools in the UC system like UCSD (I see lots of negativity about their food) donāt just follow UCLAās lead. UCSBās food is very good, but not quite at the same level as UCLA. Did you get a chance to eat there during move-in weekend? We ate at Bruin Plate because they had salmon that night and thought it was pretty good. They say a happy student is a successful student, so they should be very successful!
UCLA 19 meals a week in a triple is 12,825.00/year
My kid 19 meals a week in a spacious double is 7762.00/year
Iāll take the lower price and less salmon. (Although she has had salmon twice)
@VickiSoCal $2273.40 includes housing too?
Yes, we did eat but the whole move in weekend is a bit of a blurā¦I think it was Feast? Anyway, Iām sorry I missed Bruin Plate.
I think Feast is our sonās favorite.
@youcee and @VickiSoCal Interesting numbers. My Dd is charged $4300/semester for a private room plus something like $2000 for 16 meals plus $325 in dining dollars (which we are dropping down to the $1400 plan in Jan bc she isnāt using 1/2 of her meal swipes.). Her 2 person 2 bedroom (on-campus) apt for next yr (is registering for housing already!) is $4600/ semester but her food budget will drop significantly bc she doesnāt eat anywhere near the $$ amt of food plans.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek The cheapest housing at UCLA with a 19 meal plan is about $12,166 and goes up to about $14.9K depending on which type of hall you get assigned to (all triples for freshmen). In later years, if they get a double, add about $2k. Those prices are comparable to other SoCal schools such as USC and UCSB. Going down to a lesser meal plan only saves a few hundred dollars, so not really worth it for boys who eat a lot.
As for apartments, Iām only familiar with UCSB costs - about $6300 for the year (9 months) in university-owned apartments about half a mile from campus (easy, flat bike ride). That is for 2 people/room in a 2BR apartment, so 4 people total in there. No meal plan is included. It will be a huge savings for us this year with our older one in the apartment, even if he eats like a king or an offensive lineman. A triple this year at UCSB is $15,728 (17 meals) or $17,278 for a double! UCLA looks pretty good to us in comparison price-wise. I was going to say no ocean views at UCLA though, but one of the dorms does have some views on the upper floors.
Edit: And with this post Iām a Senior Member. Woohoo!
My Dās Room and Board based on her Double Room and the Basic Meal Plan (average two meals/day) is $12,258.
@youcee Welcome to the Seniorās Club. Its all downhill from here.
@STEM2017 Is it like the College Confidential version of AARP?
@youcee Itās exactly like AARP, but without the benefits. :))
late to game here, as for part of my job I was in San Francisco all week at Oracle Openworld. At GW , there is dining dollars, that can be used at supermarkets, whole foods, CVS, restaurants, and food trucks. No real dining hall. My D is mostly going to to whole foods and cooking. She is going to have money left over. I believe it rolls and every year the minimum is less and less. This year its about 4K for the year. She went for the 6-er dorm, with 2 ābedroomsā and that is mostly working out (only one roommate that is an issue). Dorm costs are about 8K for the year.
My DDs single room plus dining plan is $13,618/yr. The dining plan is 15 swipes per week plus $125 dining dollars for each semester. Thereās also 6 guest and 10 floating meals per semester. All freshman at Columbia pay the same housing and food costs regardless if they are in a single or double. There are only 3 meal plans available (all same price slightly different allocations of swipes/dining dollars). Upperclassman also pay the same price for housing regardless of single or double, but there are 10 dining plans available and the costs for those vary. She says the food is pretty good but that there is lots of āunhealthyā options. Sheās also become addicted to the ābadā dining hall coffee. LoL.
Apparently I am paying $15,500 for room & board. I donāt think I want to look back to see how that compares with others. Meal plan is full, and all freshmen pay the same for R&B. In addition to the regular three meals/day, students can double swipe for lunch, so early lunch & late lunch. If students miss lunch (seems unlikely with the long lunch hours), they can take a credit that can be used at a on-campus convenience mart. No dining dollars, and now that the early weeks of endless clubs & meetings with free food have ended, I think my son is is buying food late night.
@MSHopeful Thatās very reasonable for a big city. Youād pay $4k-5k more for a single at a big school in SoCal, if you could even get one as a freshman.
Undergraduate housing at most dorms at D17ās school is ca. $9K per year ($3K per trimester), regardless of whether itās a single, double, or triple (triples are ā to the best of my knowledge ā set up to be triples and are not doubles with forced triples; housing is guaranteed all four years). For freshmen, there is a mandatory meal plan. There are 2 options that cost the same (ca. $6K/year): 19 meals/week or 14 meals/week with $415 dining dollars per year. For sophomores, juniors, and seniors, there are other options for housing and dining.
@youcee Yes, weāre very fortunate. Columbia has a lot of singles but DD isnāt opposed to a double in future years either, especially now that sheāll know people and can choose a roommate. Iām glad housing is also guaranteed all four years because I canāt even imagine trying to find and afford an apartment in NY.
S17ās room and board and meal plan is just over $18K ($13K for the room and $5,190 for the meal plan) for the full year. The room is a single and the meal plan is 14 swipes/ week and $500 dining points available. It includes 20 guest meals for the year.
He texted me earlier in the week that he wants to reduce his meal plan to the 10 swipes a week plan. I told him to analyze the plans side by side. He decided not to reduce (wise decision) because all plans cost exactly the same amount of money, he would lose 110 meals and only gain $110 dining points. He enjoys the food on campus but said he is only eating about 10 meals a week at the dining halls. I told him heās right to stick with his plan and he would thank himself for that decision in a few months when itās very cold and only has to walk 2 blocks to a dining hall.
Dd said she discovered that the dining hall inside of the business school has good food. She thinks it is only open for lunch, though.
Fwiw, if anyone is interested, her professor told dd that she (the prof) had to contact the professor whose test dd had taken. He told her that his 400 level student had taken dās exam and hadnāt said a word! Not sure how that worked out.
Dd is doing really well. One of her new friends, otoh, is failing 2 courses due to too much socializing. I was proud of dd bc she convinced her to go to the student help center. Dd even walked in with her to make an appt. (It sounds like a neat service. They will even help her friend create a schedule to get back on track in her classes.)