<p>Sure my friends are getting free meals/snacks everyday. But this there a smart way to “blow out” all the left over meal credits ?</p>
<p>It’s going to be pretty hard to spend even half these credits, but try going to Jo’s, the Gate and Blue room after 4 and just buying two credits worth of whatever. Stock up. Do this while still going to the ratty/vdub for meals as well. And stop skipping breakfast!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Bring a bunch of homeless people to lunch at school and call it a service project. Call it a donation so your parents can write it off their taxes.</p>
<p>I’ve got friends who are staying over the summer, and I’m using some of my extra meal credits to buy snacks for them. Unfortunately, I’ve got credit, not points, so I can’t get stuff at the campus market.</p>
<p>quick question for my S who will be freshman: is it better to do the standard meal plan or the Flex 460 Plan?</p>
<p>Can someone explain the difference between meal credits, points, and why Flex 460 is better? Good lord this is confusing to the uninitiated.</p>
<p>start at post 247: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1070541-current-brown-students-taking-questions-17.html#post12424207[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1070541-current-brown-students-taking-questions-17.html#post12424207</a></p>
<p>Honestly, there’s no reason not to pick Flex 460. Basically, meal credits can be used at the cafeterias, and at eateries after 4 PM. Points are used the rest of the time. If you plan on eating nowhere but the Ratty and V-Dub, you could go with 20/14/7 meals a week. However, we’re busy college students, and sometimes we want a snack, or a nice Blue Room sandwich for lunch. That’s why we go with Flex 460/330. This year, I used Flex 460 first semester, had a bunch of meals/credits left over, and then went with 330 for second semester. It worked out perfectly for me - I’ve got about 35 meals left, and less than 15 points right now.</p>
<p>I will be playing football in the fall and will be traveling on weekends and am guessing will have an irregular schedule for food when at home. Any suggestions current Brown students/athletes on meal plans? Thanks!</p>
<p>LarryKingLive: I’d go with Flex 460 your first semester. Even if it ends up being too much, the points will carry over until second semester and you can go down to a lower meal plan if you need to.</p>
<p>^Actually, if you eat 3 meals a day regularly, the standard meal plan may be better. Athletes with very regular schedules are one of the few exceptions to the “Everybody should choose the flex plan!”</p>
<p>Feed me O__O</p>
<p>Daughter did Flex 460 first two years because it was, well, flexible. She never ate breakfast in the cafeteria, and was not sure about the set hours of mealtimes, so she was able to customize the meals she did want to eat by using points. Plus, the left over points at the end of one semester carried into the second, whereas left over meal credits did not. After the second, though, they did not carry into the next academic year. For the third year she stepped down into one of the less expensive plans, and we did have to buy more points in the middle of the semester, but that still was better than paying so much for meals. If you calculate the cost, the meals are really expensive, and the points are less so. BTW, she loved the food at the Ratty!</p>
<p>Actually, both points and credits carry over between first and second semester. They don’t carry over at the end of the academic year (June).</p>
<p>Perfect, Flex 460 sounds like the plan. Some of this stuff is difficult to navigate so I appreciate the help! Thanks!</p>
<p>No problem. Also, you’ve got a two-week period at the beginning of the semester when you can change your meal plan if it isn’t working out.</p>
<p>I prefer 20/wk because I regularly eat 3 meals a day, and the only thinking involved is “Have I had a day this week where I’ve only eaten 2 meals yet?” Cranking numbers, though, it seems that flex 460, if you convert points to meals (at the $6.15 rate) give roughly the same number of meals and points as 20/wk. There’s just potentially more long-term planning involved so you don’t run out of credits for fall semester in November (like one of my friends) or have 150 meals and 200 points left at the beginning of May (like another of my friends).</p>
<p>Having 180 meal credits left suggests that you might want to consider Flex 330 instead next year. Though the amount you save with that, given the number of meals you lose, is pitiful.</p>
<p>A credit at the ratty or vdub is worth more than 6.15 because its all you can eat there. From a sheer volume of food per dollar standpoint, the 20/week is definitely the cheapest, but the credits don’t carry over, so if you wont use 20 per week, then its not worth it.</p>
<p>Just stock up on snacks, feed your friends who are out of points/meals for the next few weeks.</p>
<p>How do meal plans work if you happen to be around right before or after a semester break, finishing a research project or EC or what-have-you? What about summer session?</p>