<p>So, I'm admitted to Cornell CAS. And I want some suggestions from current Cornell students about meals and dorms.
Meals: What are the Big Red Bucks? And is the 10 meals plan really the best option? (I've heard a lot of people talking about choosing this plan. Does this mean that I need to eat my breakfast elsewhere?)
And about the dorms: Any recommendations?
Thank you.</p>
<p>I don’t think most of us think to check the separate set of threads here. BRBs are dollars that can only be used for food at Cornell. You can spend them at Cafes and Cornell convenience stores like the one in RPCC. </p>
<p>My son started his freshman year with 14 meals. That seems like a decent choice to me. Those 14 meal swipes are only good at the all you can eat dining halls. There is only one of those in the area of the classrooms. Most are near your dorms. You won’t always have time to eat at those dining halls throughout the day. It depends on your schedule. </p>
<p>The rest of your meals will be casual on the go with BRBs or grab a granola bar and run or pizza with friends or whatever. BRBs also pay for snacks from the vending machines on campus. I just had to replenish my son’s BRBs, as he had used them up and the term isn’t over yet. He has 10 meals/week on his plan this term and averages another $12 per day in BRBs. He can track what he spends on his account. </p>
<p>You can change in either direction during the first 2 weeks. Keep an eye on the deadline. You can always go up. You can always add cash to your BRB account or pay with cash/charge to your Cornell card.</p>
<p>Also available to Cornell students is grocery delivery service. For students who do not wish to be limited to what the meal plans, dining facilities and snack places have to offer, it is the perfect solution. [Gro2GoCAMPUS</a> | Freeville, NY 13068](<a href=“http://www.gro2go.org%5DGro2GoCAMPUS”>http://www.gro2go.org) delivers to Campus daily. Orders are same-day shopped and delivered from Wegmans (or any other Ithaca store!). Parents can shop and pay and send food to their kids, or students can order on their own. Just an FYI. It is especially handy for those with a fitness plan, gluten sensitivities and food allergies.</p>
<p>I’m going to be a sophomore and most of my friends had the 10 meals/week + 500 BRBS plan for each semester. It actually works out very well - you get dinner 5 days a week, and then brunch and dinner on Saturdays and Sundays. You use BRB’s for lunch and snacks, and people usually buy breakfast food to eat in their rooms since most college students don’t wake up more than half an hour before class anyways.
Also Cornell Dining is great! We’re ranked in the top 10 for best and healthiest food on a bunch of lists. There are lots of options for Vegans, Vegetarians, people who keep Kosher and people with allergies. Food will be fine.</p>
<p>For dorms: I can give you a basic run-down of the ones I know of.</p>
<p>Balch: All-girls. The amount you socialize with your floormates depends on the girls around you. Some love to go out and be social and get dinner together. Some just go from lounge to library to sleep, and you barely see them. It is very quiet, and the building is old so girls usually take a sketchy elevator or walk up stairs. However, the building is SO nice on the inside (everything works even though it’s old) and the rooms are a lot larger than most other dorms, with a ton of furniture.
CKB + Mews: Rooms are arranged in suites (rooms of 4-5, singles and doubles) by gender with one bathroom for each suite. These dorms are the newest and thought to be the nicest. Also pretty social, people get really close to their suites.
Jameson + High Rise 5: Very tall buildings, you get to your floor by elevator because the buildings were built in the 60’s and were made riot proof. When you get off the elevator, you can go up or down to a “unit”-suite-type-thing. Suite is also divided by gender. They have really nice, big lounges with terraces and are super close to the community center.
Donlon: Shaped like a thong. One huge lounge in the middle of the floor. Super co-ed so you can live next to the opposite gender. Very social and often kind of loud. However, there is a library and a study area that is dead-quiet (called the Morgue).
Low Rises: Same as High Rise/Jameson except not as many floors. The hallways get kind of confusing and they’re kind of far back. People do get really close with their suites though.
Dickson: Co-ed, divided into units. The elevator is more modern and there is a combination of singles, doubles, and triples. The rooms are kind of small, but it depends on what room you get. Rooms overlook a really nice courtyard. You usually won’t live right next to the opposite gender, but it’s organized by hallways. It’s a pretty social dorm, depending on what floor you’re on.
Townhouses: Kind of far from most of the dorms (but by that I mean like an extra 2-3 minute walk). They’re really nice in that 4 people share a living room, kitchen, bathroom, etc. However, they’re a bit more expensive and kind of secluded. Usually athletes or transfers that didn’t get west campus housing live there.
Ujamaa: Stereotyped as the African American house, but a lot of different people live there.
JAM: Just about Music. For music-lovers. They have open mics pretty often, which are cool. The rooms are pretty standard, and I think they’re organized by gender-hallways.
Risley: Lots of theater people. It looks like a castle from the outside and it has a lot of artsy stuff on the inside. Since it’s a program house, people are of all ages. They have cool things like shows, practice rooms, etc.
Eco House: TBH I don’t know where it is. It’s kind of far away.
McLLU: Attached to Dickson - based on multicultural learning and tolerance
HILC: International Living Center (similar)
Akwekwon: Also a program house. Don’t know much about it.
Latino Living: About Latin Culture.
There are other program houses (I think) but I don’t know all of them.<br>
You can also check out this site:
[Residence</a> Halls](<a href=“Residential Life | Student & Campus Life | Cornell University”>Residential Life | Student & Campus Life | Cornell University)</p>
<p>As far as meal plans go, I’d say it depends on your personal eating and studying habits. I started out with the 10-meals plan. I really only went to dining halls 5-6 times a week, due to laziness and a tendency to study/do HW in the library until 8-10:00 PM every day. 2nd semester, I switched to the 7-meals plan.</p>
<p>Then again, I know people on the 14-meals plan who use all 14 of them every week. So it depends on your habits, I think.</p>