<p>According to this site, Welcome</a> to CampusDish at the University of California Irvine!
there are basically 3 options for meal plans. One with 9 meals a week, one with 11, and one with 15.</p>
<p>Assuming that you don't go home on the weekend (as in you don't commute to school), wouldn't 15 meals a week still be little? That's averaging 2 meals a day and that seems kind of low for a maximum plan. Is there something I'm missing?</p>
<p>They are breaking down how many meals a week that bundle would be equivalent to. You can use your swipes whenever you want with a cap at 100, 120, or 165. My suggestion is to start at 100 since you’ll find yourself eating out with friends or at the student center.</p>
<p>^I actually think the best meal plan is 120. But don’t worry OP, choose whichever one you think will suit you best and if it’s not right for you then you have the opportunity to change it for winter and spring quarter. You can only change it once though! (some time at the end of fall quarter I believe)</p>
<p>So you don’t find 11 meals a week little? Even for someone who doesn’t eat a lot, that’s only 1 or sometimes 2 meals a day. I’d rather not have to buy my meals elsewhere such as outside the commons because I really don’t have the money for that. I feel like those expenses would accumulate quickly.</p>
<p>I’ll be honest. Just go through the first quarter, then you’ll realize how it works. Corresponding to your situation, I took the plan with 100 meals/quarter, and I went home most weekends, but not all, and still ended with having extra meals on my budget. I spent about 20 dollars the entire quarter outside of what I ate at the commons at In-N-Out and stuff, and yeah, I wasn’t really ever hungry or anything. It was the second quarter too, at which point I realized I needed to eat more since I had leftover meals from the first quarter, yet I still ended with about 10 or so meals extra. For the record, this happened with a lot of other people too, so yeah… Just go with it and don’t analyze it mathematically (coming from a math major 
)</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch! Even though I’m not a math major, I tend to do that. It still doesn’t make that much sense mathematically but I’ll trust you. I don’t live in SoCal and I know a lot of people commute so didn’t want that to be a reason in why I find the numbers low.</p>
<p>There will be many times where you do not want to eat at any of the commons. I have been there… and so will you.</p>
<p>100 seemed fine for me, but I went home on the weekends. I think 120 should work out for you though.</p>
<p>Yea I’m gonna go 120 cause don’t you get more of the other money currency? I forgot the name. That rolls over each quarter right?</p>
<p>They’re called FlexDine dollars and yes, unused FlexDine dollars do roll over each quarter except for at the end of the school year. You get $75 as a part of your mandatory 100 or 120 block meal plan ($50 for the 165 block) which can be used on any of the dining establishments on campus.</p>
<p>Although I typically spend all of mine on snacks at Zot-n-Go and Jamba Juice. :)</p>
<p>Yea they roll over.</p>
<p>@junshik
If you don’t eat at the commons what other options are there? Doesn’t that add up quite quickly in terms of expanses?</p>
<p>If I didn’t eat at the commons, I would spend flexdine at PHX GRILL or BC CAVERNS, or student center.</p>
<p>Sure, food expenses can add up, but never skip meals for the sake of saving money. You’re compromising your health and ability to study if you skip meals. </p>
<p>I remember there would be days where I go to Pippin and eat like a plate of fries and soda, and that’s it. I recently was swiped into Pippin’s, and its the same slop they served last year. </p>
<p>Probably due to the fact that we have given up our food services to the hands of Aramark!!!</p>
<p>Haha okay. Do people usually skip breakfast? Maybe smuggle some goods out at dinnertime or what not?</p>
<p>Yeah, people skip breakfast like, a lot a lot. I haven’t eaten breakfast at college since like, Fall Quarter, I think…Your eating schedule might change, too, depending on how the people in your hall are. Like, for example, I used to eat breakfast everyday at about 9, lunch at about 2, and dinner at 8. Now, it’s more like lunch at 11 and dinner at 6, and that’s pretty much it. No one really eats alone either, so you pretty much get the same schedule as everyone else. I guess it also depends on how early you take your classes everyday…On weekends, it’s mostly brunch at about noon, so yeah, breakfast isn’t that big a meal to a lot of people here. I do eat breakfast sometimes via cereal or something, so yeah…</p>
<p>As for smuggling food, yeah, that does happen now and then and it can help you out a lot when necessary…not that you’re allowed to or stuff, but yeah. There’s also a few days you might order pizza or something, but don’t worry. Go with 120 meals, get through first quarter, and go with that and yeah, as junshik says, don’t go starve yourself >.>.</p>