<p>Are those meal plans where you buy each individual item manageable at all? Is it very easy to run out of your money, and are the portions at least good at all? I guess it depends on the school, but share your experiences if you can...</p>
<p>Bump. Anyone??</p>
<p>do many schools really do this anymore? it sounds like a bad idea, and a good way to run out of funds before even half of the semester is over...</p>
<p>What are you talking about? Over here there are meal blocks (a full meal" and then dine-extra (money) that you can use. You can buy individual things with the dine-extra since it works like money and full meals with the meal blocks.</p>
<p>For example I have 24 meal blocks and 70 dollars every 2 weeks. I can get a meal and then get like a few red bulls (let's say 4 bucks). Your account would then show 23 meal blocks left and 66 dollars.</p>
<p>Yes, they actually work VERY well. At UCSD we're given 1800 points (aka 1800$) at the start of the year (well, more like charged for). You get about 8$ a day...lunch runs around 3-4 and dinner around 5-6. You might run out if you get sodas and stuff at every meal, but no one's stopping you from buying sodas at Ralphs or Safeway and bringing it in.</p>
<p>At many schools on all you can eat in a sitting programs, you're required to eat in the halls...here, you can come in, buy something, bring it out...you can bring also in outside food, etc. Also, many times block points expire after a certain time, so for example, if you're out of town for a week or have something planned during dinnertime at the cafeteria...you're stuck. Here, the points still expire...but not until the end of the year.</p>
<p>Remember, the price of a meal block is quite likely the same price as a full meal (entree + 2 sides and a drink) here...just in a different "currency".</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>My son's college has that plan, and it can work well once you figure out how big a plan you need and buy the proper amount of points. Otherwise you can end up running out or with a lot of points left over at the end of the year. (His college is now changing the system so you can carry over left over points to the next year. Before, they were just lost.) He does like having more options of where and what to eat. But he also likes to visit the cafeteria where you pay a straight price for a meal and can eat as much as you want--for a guy with a big appetite, that is better in some ways.</p>