<p>Hi! So about room and board:
Any creative ideas to reduce the costs of this? I think Northeastern's website said that most freshmen are automatically assigned to a 15-meal plan, but is this the best plan for most people (i.e. average 17-year-old girl who's just slightly particular about food)?
According to Northeastern State of Mind (: D) eating out seems kind of common... How much should a person anticipate taking advantage of their meal plan?? (hopefully that makes sense...)</p>
<p>Also - does anyone know anything about roommate switching? I could only find info about switching rooms (seems kind of hard), but not about changing roommates, which I guess is not exclusively separate. Is it a big deal if you swap roommates with someone else/does that happen often?</p>
<p>And also - do RAs (proctors?) get paid or receive reduced costs for rooms? If I was looking at the right thing on Northeastern's site, freshman aren't usually selected (obvs) but is this reasonable for a sophomore to consider? And what kind of stats/qualifications would be necessary to reasonably apply for a position like that, given it's worth the effort?</p>
<p>Thanks so much!!</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure you can change your meal plan throughout the semester, so start off with the 15-meal plan and if you realize that that’s too much then reduce it. Sort of what I have planned.</p>
<p>you have one or two weeks to reduce your meal plan at the beginning of the semester. You can move it up any time, but you can’t move it down after the first couple weeks. Freshman year, I had a ten meal plan, and it was fine for me.</p>
<p>yeah, I had the 10 meal plan all of freshman year and I was fine. I went to the dining hall for dinner about 6 nights a week, always had breakfast in my dorm, and used the remaining 4 meals for lunches or whatever. 15 was too much for me–some weeks I didn’t even use my 10.</p>
<p>You can cut room/board by moving off-campus or by not living in the nice dorms. Off-campus is the most affordable except for a few select areas around campus that are pricey.</p>
<p>RA is a really good option too. You get free housing and a 19 meal plan for free (free-ish… you’re doing a lot of work for that housing and meal plan) so you can really save money by doing that. It’s competitive, you want to be involved around campus, have good ECs, show that you care about the northeastern community. But for the right people it’s a good opportunity and definitely something worth looking into.</p>
<p>Room switching is possible and not that difficult, but as a freshman you need to have a legitimate reason for wanting out (ie, not just because you want to live with your friend or in a nicer dorm or a less crowded room). Housing also encourages you to stick it out for a while before moving, and wants you to try to work out any issues you’re having before you’re able to switch rooms. If you do have a legitimate reason for wanting to switch dorms (nightmare roommate), then it all gets done officially through housing and they’re pretty flexible and helpful, but again, only if it’s a last resort kind of thing.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the helpful info! : )</p>
<p>I just want to point out that incoming freshmen (or current freshmen?) are going to be required to remain on campus for their first two years (right?).</p>
<p>Parent of NEU grad here. Off campus is not cheap particularly if you are concerned about the area. If your student has enrolled yet and you are already trying to figure out how to reduce costs this might not be the best option.</p>
<p>I know quite a few people, especially girls, who basically never use ten meals a week, and only eat out infrequently(do note that they generally don’t eat at every meal). As a pretty big guy, I have only used fifteen meals once or twice. If you buy a lower meal plan, you’ll also get more general purpose dining dollars.</p>
<p>Uh, just want to point out to people. Emily- did you live in WVF your first year? Because I did, and I remember we were automatically put on 10 meals AND we couldn’t drop to 5, we could only increase it. Moreover I’m pretty sure every other freshman was assigned to 15 and couldn’t drop it to 10 or 5. They used the excuse that you don’t have kitchens in the normal dorms. So don’t count on dropping it to 10 unless you are sure you can.</p>
<p>Nope, lived in Kennedy :). At least when I was a freshman, we were allowed to drop to 10, but that was the minimum. Could have changed, though!</p>
<p>Also good points that # of meals you need depends on your general eating habits, and that off-campus living is hardly “cheap”. I’m biased after years of living in Boston and I think $700/month is dirt cheap for rent, but obviously $700 every month is a lot of money (and you can only find that in the cheaper areas). Still, I remember that when I lived in the cheapest dorms, I was still paying substantially more than that when Room and Board was broken down by month.</p>
<p>Freshmen can definitely drop down to 10 meals a week, but not less than that. I lived in IV last year (which has a dining hall), so I managed to usually use at least more than 10 meals a week. But I know a lot of people who dropped down to 10 second semester. You’ll have a week or two to drop down at the beginning of the year. 10 meals a week is probably the best way to go. I literally ate in IV twice a day, every day. I was sooooo sick of dining hall food by the end of the year. (Although now you can use meal swipes at Rebecca’s Cafe, which is awesome just because it’s right in the middle of campus, which makes grabbing lunch between classes a lot easier.)</p>
<p>Yes, after spending high school boarding, I’m kind of sick of dining hall food too haha (though it would obviously be better there!!) Hopefully I can work out dropping to 10 during those first weeks! </p>
<p>I’ll be in IV too next year, so does that mean you only eat at their dining hall, or is it just more convenient to/the same food as the other dining hall(s?)?</p>
<p>Thanks for the insight : ) (especially with this crazy minor stuff… ha)</p>
<p>The food, fortunately, is different at each dining hall; even if its the same item, it probably won’t be cooked in quite the same manner (Stetson West, in my opinion, has the best pizza, if only by a little bit). In general, IV is pretty good, and you’ll probably eat most of your meals there. Whenever you feel like a change, head over to Stetson East or West. Stetson West has a pretty nice stir fry bar, though you’re best off going at non-peak hours, otherwise you’ll wind up waiting on your stir fry when you’ve long since finished off any other food. Also, Churchill Hall has a place called Rebecca’s Cafe, which, while not technically a dining hall, will accept meal plan. However, its not buffet style, and they limit your options somewhat if you use meal plan, and it can get busy, especially around lunch and when classes change (it also closes early, I think around 3 or 4). However, in the mornings, as long as you don’t go right around class letting out, you should be able to get your food in a reasonable amount of time, and its a nice change of pace.</p>