<p>I know some of you bought the Thrifty 20 last year when your kids ran low on the meal plan towards the end of the semester. </p>
<p>If I get the Thrifty 20, and he doesn’t use all 20, will the remainder roll over to next semester? </p>
<p>Also, son has all 10 guest meals left. He’ll donate one, which is the limit you can do per semester.</p>
<p>Do remaining guest meals carry over to the next semester?</p>
<p>Guest meals carry over to the next semester, as do unused meals from the Thrifty 20.</p>
<p>Your son can always use the guest meals for himself instead of buying another meal plan. Also, it might be easier just to use Dining Dollars, Bama Cash, or another form of payment for some meals. Breakfast and late night each cost $6.30 and lunch costs $9.00, $5.45 on every other Friday.</p>
<p>Thanks, Seatide. I didn’t know you could use Guest Meals for yourself. We donate one a semester, but nine should be plenty. If that’s not enough, we’ll do the Thrifty 20 and have it roll over. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Speaking of meals, a friend of mine has a daughter at another college in the south (I will not mention the name…), and she stated that the cafeterias are not open and/or meal plans can not be used on weekends at her daughter’s college. That is not the case with UA is it?</p>
<p>Dining Halls are open on weekends and they do take Meal Plans.</p>
<p>However, many kids do not like eating on campus during the weekends since there are many off-campus choices. So, don’t go overboard selecting a meal plan.</p>
<p>I didn’t know you could use Guest Meals for yourself.</p>
<p>Last year, did your son have unlimited? If so, then it didn’t make a difference. However, now that he has a limited meal plan, yes…he can use the guest meals. The guest meals are not really guest meals. They are the student’s meals and the student is allowed to use 10 of his own meals as guest meals.</p>
<p>Thanks M2CK. My friend is running into the problem that her daughter tends to eat out around “town” every weekend, because the dining halls are closed on weekend, and meal plan can not be used on weekends. So she feels that this is a hidden expense of the college she was not planning on.</p>
<p>Eating all meals off campus on weekends is a pretty expensive addition.</p>
<p>vlines… that would be upsetting , especially if they werent told that. does the school have any nearby establishments that take dining dollars or anything like that?</p>
<p>* My friend is running into the problem that her daughter tends to eat out around “town” every weekend, because the dining halls are closed on weekend, and meal plan can not be used on weekends. So she feels that this is a hidden expense of the college she was not planning on.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>I don’t know what school this is, but the mom might try contacting the office that handles meal plans and find out if she can downsize her child’s meal plan since their dining halls aren’t open on weekends. </p>
<p>Usually, if a school doesn’t have halls that are open on weekends, then either they’ve arranged for off-campus venues to accept the meal plan or the meal plan options are smaller (like 5 -10 meals per week).</p>
<p>agree m2k… you would think a school would have to provide some alternative for wkd eating.doesnt make alot of sense.</p>
<p>^^^Yes, son did have unlimited last year, so we didn’t have to worry about running out of meals.</p>
<p>As for eating off campus on weekends, my son has rarely done this. Maybe once or twice walking with his CBH friends after working on the project last year. He does, however, go to the Food Court in the Ferg, and sometimes gets a to-go meal to bring back to his room to eat while they watch the away game. I don’t know the name of the restaurant, but it’s inside Lakeside, and he “splurges” once in a while on that. </p>
<p>Son does eat breakfast in his room every day, as he did last year, so that’s why we felt we could go with a lower plan this year, and tried out the Bronze as an experiment that seems to be working so far.</p>
<p>Even son’s campus friends have a meal plan, and they often get together for lunch at the Ferg or another dining hall. It’s a great way for them to socialize between class and get something to eat at the same time.</p>
<p>It will really depend on your child’s schedule and amount of homework they have if they’re willing or able to take the time to walk to the Strip, drive to an off campus eatery, or even prepare their own meal. And of course, having a “significant other” or being Greek probably throws the whole equation out the window.</p>
<p>my son went to a boarding school for hs and was sick and tired of cafeteria type food, i was really happy establishments near his school take dining dollars. although he still eats his fair share at campus eateries weekdays and weekends. 
child likes to eat</p>
<p>Is there anything specific that has to be done for your student to use the guest meals? Do they just kick in after regular meals are used up? The extra 10 should be just the right amount :)</p>
<p>Dining dollars=meal plan? You can use your meal plan meals at places other than the 4 cafeterias? </p>
<p>Sorry if I am being slow</p>
<p>Is there an advantage (with respect to cost per meal) to purchasing a Thrifty 20 for additional meals rather than swiping your ACT card and use Dining Dollars or Bama Cash? </p>
<p>My son had leftover money either from dining meals or dining dollars at the end of the spring semester. He would have had just the right amount of meals left had he not gone home prematurely because of the tornado. As a result, the remainder was deposited in his Bama Cash and he had a decent balance at the start of the semester. </p>
<p>Is there a discount buying his meals through the Thrifty 20 or does it cost the same per meal through Bama Cash?</p>
<p>It sounds like (but I am not sure) that the freshman are required to get a certian plan. I just think it is unfair they want freshamn to stay on campus, then not have the meal plan/ cafeterias open for them.</p>
<p>vlines, if you’re referring to UA meal plan locations not being open on weekends that is untrue. </p>
<p>Burke is open 7 days a week and Lakeside is open 6 days I believe. There is at least one all you can eat meal plan location open for breakfast, lunch, or dinner 7 days a week.</p>
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<p>Good question. Dining Dollars are not the same thing as meal plan units. As for meal plans, this is from the Bama Dining website. bamadining.ua.edu/pages/terms-conditions.html</p>
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<p>Read upthread, she’s referring to a friend’s child at another school.</p>
<p>My daughter loves Late Night at Lakeside. She joined a sorority and was automatically downsized to the Greek 50. If I read all the info on the Bama Dining site correctly, Greek pledges do have the option to drop a dining hall plan by Oct 1 (but no refund for the $197 student with on campus housing dining hall fee). She wanted to keep the Greek 50 to use when she is unable to get over to her house to eat. I am glad to learn the guest meals rollover and she can use them for herself if necessary.</p>
<p>No NJ, it is another school. I was checking the situation at UA because of a situation that my friends daughter is in. A few asked about the options at my friends daughter’s school. I am VERY glad to hear the UA’s meal plan works all week long, and weekends!</p>
<p>vlines… have you checked that schools website to be sure there isnt some kind of weekend option? maybe the girl doesnt know all the options?</p>