I was looking at meal plans and see that each of the plans give you Dining Dollars. I still can’t find a solid definition as to what the difference between those and Blue Bucks is. Also, when do we pick our meal plans?
they’re both a scam. That you could otherwise spend literally anywhere else.
@ForeverAlone I think calling it a scam is quite the stretch. It’s not that great, but it is useful in a lot of circumstances
@pencilpen7 So they are both very very similar. Blue Bucks can be used at any building on campus to pay for stuff (i.e. the library cafe, the Barnes and Noble in the Union, the U-Go’s convenience store, etc.). On the other hand, Dining Dollars can only be used on the restaurants/cafes on campus (i.e. the library cafe, the restaurants within the Union/League/Pierpont, Fields cafe, etc.). So essentially, Blue Bucks can be used at more places than Dining Dollars (I believe they are making a transition to get rid of Dining Dollars in the near future).
Also, Blue Bucks transfers from semester to semester, whereas your Dining Dollars will reset every semester.
Do keep in mind that the places you can use Blue Bucks/Dining Dollars is somewhat limited. It can’t be used on places off-campus, regardless of how close they are to campus. They will only work in restaurants/cafe that are within the buildings on campus. So all the cafes in the dorms, the Union, the League, Palmer Common, Pierpont, etc. will be the only places you’d be able to use Dining Dollars/Blue Bucks. However, even so, I found myself using it a fair amount on days I just wasn’t feeling the dining hall (which happens eventually to a lot of students).
Your parents can see how both dining dollars and blue bucks are used if you give them access.
Blue bucks are refundable, dining dollars are not, but dining dollars should transfer between fall and winter semester. Blue bucks work for laundry machines, campus book stores, stadium concessions, and at the hospital and med-sci cafeterias too. The upgraded meal plans give you a few more guest meals and box lunches but that seems like overkill given that you can buy them (unless you have regular visitors).
What usually happens is that students buy a bunch of (overpriced) junk food at the convenience stores at the end of the semester with their remaining dining dollars.
Personally I’d just get the basic dining plan , put a little in the blue buck account for laundry, and use a credit or debit card for everything else.
Freshmen year, I don’t think you can get a meal plan without having Blue Bucks and DIning Dollars. If I had to the option to not have them, I would save my money. When I lived off campus, I noticed that the other convenience stores around campus had much better selection and the dollar goes farther. You can still use cash/credit/debit at all places that accept Blue Bucks/Dining Dollars anyways. It only exists as a money grab. It’s like converting money from your bank into non-refundable gift cards.