<p>I just got back from Cal Poly and spent a few days there eating on campus using up my kid’s extra plus dollars, etc. My wife and I have one comment. The food just isn’t as bad as people say.</p>
<p>All I have to compare it to is the garbage I had when I was in college. There is so much more variety than what I had back then. </p>
<p>They had salad bars, several restaurants, including fast food like Chick-Fill-A, and passable pizza (a bit cold when ordered by the slice). In general, I feel it was much healthier than what I was expecting. I can definitely see weight gain if not careful as a lot of the food fits into the comfort food category. I can see it getting monotonous after a while, but that is what trips into downtown SLO are for. There is even a Starbucks (always a line) and a good bagel shop on campus. Also, don’t forget that you can prepare your own stuff too.</p>
<p>I was jealous compared to the lousy stuff I had in undergrad and grad school. The only advantage I had when I was in school was that my graduate program actually had a working bar on campus. The only campus in the state with a pub on school premises (there were no undergrads and all students were above 21)! But that would be impossible on an undergraduate school campus.</p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona opened a beer bar on campus in '77 or '78. I’m not sure if it is still operating, or if not, how long it lasted. There were quite a few students using their GI bill at the time so a fair number of them were not just out of high school.</p>
<p>I got my MBA in International Business from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona and the bar is still open!</p>
<p>The school is the top program in its specialty. It is ranked the #1 International MBA with USNWR for 17 consecutive years and the #1 International MBA with the Financial Times for 6 years – great school. </p>
<p>Graduates all over the World get together every first Tuesday of the month at pubs and bars as a school tradition. It all started at the campus pub.</p>
<p>I am a transfer student who will be living on-campus in the fall. I am wondering if I should get a meal plan? I am on a very limited budget and will be living off student loans. I am wondering if it is cheaper to get a meal plan than to just buy food whenever. Also, I am very health conscious so I want good, nutritious food available to me. Anyone have any suggestions? I am going to visit the campus in a few weeks, are there any student cafes or restaurants recommended to try out?</p>
<p>IMO, the meal plans are WAY over-priced. If you have a kitchen (Poly Canyon or Cierro Vista), you can save a bunch of $$ by cooking for your self and/or with your room mates.</p>
<p>I think the problem is not so much the food being “horrible” or “inedible,” but that it’s not worth what we are paying for. Campus dining is not great, but I’ll eat it if I have no other options. The problem is that it’s overpriced. When I was a freshman, before they turned Metro into a buffet, they had an Asian station. You could get similar stuff to Panda Express, except it cost several dollars more and usually only tasted half as good. And then there were the fruit cups. I don’t really buy stuff from campus eating places much anymore, but I remember they had these like 12oz drinking cups they would fill with fruit. Sometimes there would be maybe 8 strawberries or like 20 grapes in a cup. All for $3.75 and usually not very fresh. I’d really like to know how much of a profit the Cal Poly Corporation makes off of campus dining, cause its seems like it would be huge, but they could make even more if they improved the freshness and quality of what they offered.</p>
<p>I thought you where required to get a meal plan? If you are in the apartment style rooms then your meal plan is different (smaller) but since the apartments are more expensive the total ends up the same.</p>
<p>ya, no a meal plan is not required for me, I was just wondering if it would be beneficial for me to have one. I need to save as much money as possible, but I also want to eat healthy. I’m not much of a cook, but if it saves me money, I will learn how to cook in my Poly Canyon apartment kitchen. Just not sure which would save me money overall…</p>
<p>@Pedro: meal plans (for freshmen at least) consist of actual “meals” that you can basically only use for prepared food or like bottle of water/juice and snacks, and “plus dollars” which can be used at places like campus market to buy cooking supplies. However, campus market is really overpriced, so I’d suggest buying groceries off campus and not getting a meal plan unless you’re required to have one.</p>
<p>My daughter is a sophomore in PCV right now…well, at least until she comes home later today. She had a Freedom meal plan as a FRESHMAN in the dorms, but didn’t have one this year. Instead, she shopped mostly at Trader Joe’s and sometimes other grocery stores. She learned to cook basic meals in her apartment in PCV. She also grabbed a bite to eat on campus now and then. Or a coffee. And, of course, she ate off campus, as well. When they introduced the all-you-can-eat buffet at Metro this year, she said NO WAY! It would just be an easy way to put on weight, she said. And, now she’s a pescatarian so she only eats fish, as well as veggies, etc. Easier to shop for healthier foods than it is to pay for it through an over-priced meal plan. She also had her car this year which made it easier to shop. But, for those without a car, there’s always the free bus or friends with cars. :)</p>
She had a Freedom meal plan as a FRESHMAN in the dorms, but didn’t have one this year. Instead, she shopped mostly at Trader Joe’s and sometimes other grocery stores. She learned to cook basic meals in her apartment in PCV. She also grabbed a bite to eat on campus now and then. Or a coffee. And, of course, she ate off campus, as well. When they introduced the all-you-can-eat buffet at Metro this year, she said NO WAY! It would just be an easy way to put on weight, she said. And, now she’s a pescatarian so she only eats fish, as well as veggies, etc. Easier to shop for healthier foods than it is to pay for it through an over-priced meal plan. She also had her car this year which made it easier to shop. But, for those without a car, there’s always the free bus or friends with cars. :)</p>