<p>My S was off the meal plan freshman year for health reasons as well.
Like Cdancer, he shops at Wholefoods on Saturday- does a ton of cooking, freezes and has enough food through mid week. He eats at a few places on campus- Indian one of the better ones and he keeps abunch of staples like wraps, salsa, cheese, and canned beans for emergencies.<br>
There’s 1/2 off at all the restaurants after 11 - I think he does that quite often.</p>
<p>I had written in a few other places about money savings.
Keep in mind the total budget includes $2500 for personal expenses. Your S does not need to spend 200 a month on goodies- my kids do not!
Buy any airline tix well in advance for transportation home.</p>
<p>We buy text when needed at half.com - but as many posted already- my S and D borrow many books as well. </p>
<p>The only true unnegotiable expense is tuition.
From there-- as a freshman - consider the Mudge Triple or Mudge Quad
and then head off campus for the least expensive housing.</p>
<p>Most certainly no meal plan.</p>
<p>There are “flex dollars” with a 10% bonus. So if you put 500 in for a semester (it rolls over) you actually have 550. The on campus food is about $7 a meal and it really isn’t that good. There are sufficient alternatives in proximity. As a freshman though- start with cash in the plan and your S can learn the ropes. Since most if not all his friends will be freshman on the meal plan - he’ll want to eat on campus with friends. But don’t buy a meal plan !</p>