The Yearly: Brown student taking questions thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
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<p>No the food is going ot be bad. Some days are better than others. The trick is understanding how to be very creative with what's there. For instance, I love to grab a chicken cutlet and wrap, throw in some pickles, lettuce, olives, onions, cucumber, tomato, and hummus with just a bit of olive oil and it's delicious. You can also make quesadillas, and some of the meal food is actually good-- it's just that's only around maybe 3-4x a week. We also have several alternative dining locations, Jo's, the Gate, and the Ivy Room all of which are better than the Ratty, IMO.</p>

<p>But, then again, I'm going off meal plan because I'd rather cook for myself, personally. The meal plan worked more as a social thing for me than anything else. Honestly, making food that high a priority is probably not that great an idea-- college food in general is bad, we're pretty have average in the bad range from my experience elsewhere...</p>

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<p>Heya. Can you explain the different meal options/flex poitns and whatnot? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>A word about meal plan: as a freshman, you need to be on some kind of meal plan. I recommend getting the flexplan rather than the meals per week plan, because it's pretty much the same value but your leftover meals rollover and it's not nearly so restrictive as to where you can eat. I'd also err on the side of having too much food for the first semester. In addition to feeding you, dining places are also social centers, and it kind of sucks when all your friends are going to Jo's and you don't have any more meal credits for the day. Later on, this isn't a big deal, but when you first get here, you'll probably want to meet as many people and hang out as much as possible. </p>

<p>Here's a quick run-down of the units: (other people feel free to add)
The Ratty: standard buffet style. Tends to have a lot of bad fish. (Bad meaning not particularly tasty, rather than rotten.) It's very dependable though, in that you will always be able to count on the pasta bar, the grill line, and the salad bar to offer more or less the same thing (whether that's a good or bad thing...that's your call). There's also a vegetarian line, which often is pretty ok. </p>

<p>The Vdub: Buffet style dining hall over on Pembroke. The atmosphere is nicer than the Ratty, and it's much smaller. A lot of people say the food is better here. I don't notice much of a difference. There's now a weekly bar for lunch that rotates (mediterranean bar, nacho bar...) and I hear that's pretty good.</p>

<p>The Gate: Late night pizza and sandwiches on Pembroke. The Gate takes meal credits and points and is open during the day for lunch until 2 am. It has good sandwiches and panini and the pizza is decent. Also has Ben and Jerry's pints and other packaged items. </p>

<p>The Blue Room: Coffeeshop type place in Faunce. This is open from 7ish-5 on weekdays, and you can only use points here. There's coffee, muffins, bagels, pastries, and then a deli that makes sandwiches and has soup and salad. Pretty conveniently located, and one of the reasons I recommend the flex plan rather than the standard plan.</p>

<p>Jo's: Fast food type stuff, but also has quesadillas and wraps, chili, and lots of chips and other packaged items. Open until 2 am every day. You can use meal credits and points here. If you drink, you will probably go here sometime during your night out. </p>

<p>The Ivy Room: This has two functions. During the day, it's a place where a lot of professors and grad students have lunch, and now this year, thanks to the new flex plans, undergrads are eating here too. The food is basically the same as the ratty (the ivy room is in the ratty basement and uses the same kitchens) except for the sandwiches and the salad bar. The sandwiches during the day are slightly more interesting than the blue room sandwiches. During the day, you can only use points here.
From 8-12, the Ivy Room is a vegetarian snack place. The most popular item is the falafel wrap, but there's also a burrito bar, smoothies, frozen yogurt, omelets, pizza, and some chips and salads and stuff. Probably by the time y'all get here, there will be the addition of hot sandwiches. </p>

<p>There's also the Campus Market, which isn't really an eatery, but more like a convenience store where you can spend your flex points. You can get all the solo cups, mixers, and condoms you'll need for your next party right there, and you can use your meal plan to do it.</p>

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<p>Sure. Basically, there are two forms of meal plan-- the weekly plan and the flex plan. The weekly plan gives you X amount of meal swipes per week, not exceeding three on any given day. It also gives you X flex points which can be used like cash at the Campus market, Josiah's, The Gate, the Ivy Room, the Blue Room, etc. Meal credits not used at one of hte main dining halls can be used at Jo's, the Gate, or the Ivy Room as $5.20 towards food only on the day they're active (so, if you used 2 meals one day, you have one 5.20 swipe for Jo's at night, for instance. This can be supplemented with flex points).</p>

<p>The Flex plan gives you a set number of meals for the semester. They can be used any time, any number of times in a day, at any of the dining halls or as a $5.20 swipe at the eateries aforementioned. They also give you more flex points, though the total number of meals are lower.</p>

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<p>I disagree strongly with Rabo. The Flex Plan does not work out financially anyway you slice it. You pay way more per meal for the same value. Yes, you pay for convenience, but most of hte time that convenience is definitely not worth it. I hvae 5 or 6 friends on flex this year and only one thinks it was worth it. In the long run, you're getting less for your money. The only case where flex makes sense is if you're an athlete who's off campus a lot. That's been my experience, YMMV.</p>

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<p>Meal credits vs flex points:</p>

<p>Meal credits are what get you into the Ratty and the Vdub. They are also worth $5.20 at the board retail units (Jo's, the Gate, the Ivy Room at night). On the standard meal plan, you get a certain number of meals per week, and when the week is over, the meals disappear. On the flex plan, you get a certain number per semester, and they roll over from first to second semester and then disappear.</p>

<p>Flex points are basically dollars that you can only spend at Brown Dining. If you want to get into the Ratty or VDub on flex points, it will cost you $5.20. Depending on what meal plan you have, you get a certain amount of flex points per semester. Any you don't use first semester roll over to second semester, and after that they disappear. If you run out, you can buy more at a discounted rate (it's something like $100 gets you 150 points).</p>

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<p>Ok, I guess it really depends where you eat. When I was on meal plan, I rarely at in the dining halls and spent lots of meal credits on stuff I didn't really need (large amounts of bottled water, those crappy crustless pbj sandwiches, what have you) and would have prefered just having a lot of points, which is basically what the flex plan is. If you eat at the dining halls a lot, I guess it's worth it to have the standard plan. I also did not like about the standard plan that you can only spend 3 meals a day, and once the week is over the meals disappear. So if you miss say 2 meals one day, there's no way to get that back, whereas if you're on the flex plan, you don't have that problem.</p>

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<p>These are all true, but my friends and I sat down after fall semester when I suggested that the full plan was better and figured out there is no way to make the flex plan a better deal if you eat at the dining halls even 1 time a day. But liek I said, YMMV.</p>

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<p>Just wondering...does Brown have a gym for non-athletes because I have just started to work out.</p>

30

<p>There are satellite gyms in Keeney and on the Pembroke Campus (I think in Em-Wool?) and there is also the Bear's Lair in Grad Center. Not to mention the OMAC is open to all Brown students.</p>

<p>Also, renovations of the OMAC to from the Nelson Fitness Center should be starting soon. I think this summer...</p>

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<p>You're probably right about the better deal. However, since meal plan is never a bargain, and since I ended up wasting most of my meals anyway, I remain unconvinced :). To each his own. Actually, off meal plan is the way to go.</p>

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<p>Which is why I was really upset when I couldn't cancel meal plan mid year and there is no way I'm going on next year.</p>

<p>Some people love the meal plan, I am the type of guy that cooked for himself a lot at home and I love it, so to me, meal plan is a social thing though I curse myself for not making something wonderful and tasty.</p>

<p>Food shopping for myself is just about my favorite thing to do.</p>

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<p>Hehe :D Sounds like I better start picking up more cooking tips at home.</p>

<p>I recall you saying that campus connectivity ... sucks. That still the case? it's not wireless everywhere yet, is it?</p>

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<p>They were trying to make all the dorms wireless, but I think they stopped because it cost more than they expected or something. No, not wireless everywhere.</p>

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<p>=[ That's... sorta sad...</p>

<p>Is it ever a problem?</p>

36

<p>Wireless most places and in all freshman dorms for sure (I think only Grad Center is left, a long with a few patches in other dorms that are proving hard ot get strong signal to). Most of the campus is wireless, but of course, it's wherever you find yourself in desperate need that it isn't. There is only 1 ethernet connection per bed (i.e. 2 in a double, 1 in a single), and I don't think it's gigabit, just 100mbit. Also, we have only about 18 channels on cable and the system literally cannot be expanded without rewiring half the school. We actually pay for 40 some odd channels but our system can't handle putting out more than we are. There is some work being done wiht IPTV, which allows us ot watch tv over the computer that may lead ot the expansion of TV at Brown (IPTV already has more channels).</p>

<p>What does connectivity mean to you and what are your tech "requirements". I am geeky chem concentrator that almost went to Case Western (which is probably the top college I know of tech wise... almost definitely in fact) so I'm a bit different than most...</p>

<p>The wireless thing isn't really a problem-- all academic buildings have it, and if you're at your desk in your room who really needs it, it's just sad. Our tech budget isn't very high compared to other places, along with some organizational issues that has made upgrades and expansion a bit difficult...</p>

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<p>Mmm. Usually I'd just be torrenting something.. but on the rare occasion I get my geek on and play a game or something, it'd be nice to know I'm not pinging like crazy. Are the IT people really mean/stingy with what you do on the system in terms of p2p and personal antivirus/firewall programs?</p>

<p>It's kinda surprising that the tech budget and tech situation isn't that great at Brown but I imagine it does what you need it to just fine.</p>

<p>How well do students interact/get along with each other? Is it uncommon for a classmate to go out of his/her way to help another/are students too obsessed/selfish with their own grades to help others (guess this goes mainly towards premed kids, haha)? I mean I know Brown is very accepting of different ideas/people, but I was just wondering about how nice I guess, the people are. Yah, weird question.</p>

<p>Oh, and how are workstudy/research opportunities on campus? </p>

<p>Are student activities/events affordable for most people? How about just cost of living in Providence?</p>

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<p>I just wanted to suggest that classes in my experience were somewhat more demanding in time and depth than has been suggested on this thread and, I am in the social sciences.</p>

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<p>Actually not all the academic buildings have it. Off the top of my head, Wilson doesn't, which is strange because it's on the main green. I've never had lack of wireless be a problem, although my class work rarely requires the internet.</p>

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<p>You're not going to have ping issues with games. They're not "stingy" about bittorrent or p2p, but if they get contacted you will get contacted. It's happened to me twice already and another friend at least once. Best not to use Pirate Bay and to stick with passworded/user sites. Peer Guardian will work but in my experience it's more of hassel than a help.</p>

<p>Students will definitely help you out, I find the atmosphere to be very encouraging to collaborative work and no one in my classes wouldn't take hte time to meet up with you and work with you if you're having trouble. People aren't out to screw you, even the few who are overly grade conscious are not so in the sense that they will want you to do worst to boost their grade.</p>

<p>I haven't qualified for workstudy yet, so I can't speak to much on it but check this page out:
<a href="http://financialaid.brown.edu/JobX_FindAJob.aspx?t=qs&qs=21%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://financialaid.brown.edu/JobX_FindAJob.aspx?t=qs&qs=21&lt;/a>
There are plenty of jobs on campus.</p>

<p>Events are mostly cheap to free on campus, only things like the Spring Weekend concerts hit double digit costs that I know of. Providence is pretty averagely priced as far as I can tell but I am from NY so what I tolerate is different than others.</p>