<p>OK,</p>
<p>I had Trojan Plan last year, and I had similar eating habits to you (3 full meals a day + snacks, etc.). The snacks are really expensive, so personally I'd say you should cut down on those as much as you can. It's almost impossible to eat healthily with a meal plan, if that is your intention. So if you have any idealistic notion of sustaining yourself with healthy food all semester, you can throw that out the window; trust me, you are going to have to have some nasty fast food just to get through some of the days. </p>
<p>First semester was ok, but that was before the school opened Upstairs Commons late in the semester. I only went once, during December, when most of my funds were already depleted. Plus, I subsisted on some bulk food I brought from Costco. I still managed to use all my Trojan meal $$ (which was ~2750 last year) except for about 2 bucks. I used the last 2 dollars to buy myself a water bottle before I left for the break. I had the 3 major meals of the day (bkfast, lunch, dinner) mostly at the dining halls.</p>
<p>Second semester. I overestimated my balance once the semester progressed into mid-spring. I went to Upstairs Commons like 10 times throughout the semester usually with 3 of my buddies, sometimes with 2, and other times with 1 other person. We had a great time. There went the bulk of my money. Don't over-indulge yourself there. I thought I'd still have enough money at the end of the semester because I was out for most of the weekends, but I didn't. The week classes ended, I had less than 30 dining dollars left and literally rationed food just to survive. One day I actually wanted to save my dining dollars for the next day by fasting, but since I had no prior experience with fasting, it didn't go too well, and I ended up going to EVK binging on some of the nasty food they had left over. For the next few days, I had to spend extra money at the UV for food, or rely occasionally on my friends with extra dining dollars or guest meals. </p>
<p>So yes, you can deplete your Trojan Plan to 0 before the semester is over. Budget yourself. Definitely do not count on eating at the dining halls everyday; it won't work, and you'll get sick of the food they serve day in and day out. Dining hall food gets boring VERY QUICKLY. At the rate you're eating in the dining halls, don't be surprised if some days you eat only 1/3 of what you grab from EVK or Parkside. Commons has some decent-priced food that'll keep you satiated for several hours. Wolfgang Puck and Malibu Subs are good, and one of my friends just told me a Greek place opened up recently at Commons with some good food. These places sell food for about half the price it takes to get into the dining halls, but keep you filled anyway. If you want lunch AND an afternoon snack, you can get both at Commons for the price of 1 lunch at Parkside or EVK. Unfortunately, you'll probably have to go to Parkside and EVK most nights for dinner, but at least you can save around 6 dining dollars a day by not eating there for lunch everyday.</p>
<p>If you get the chance to live in an apartment, take advantage of it. You can eat what you want, when you want, and you'll spare yourself the expense of $6000 for a limited meal plan. My roommates and I cook every night and we love it. But next semester, since you can only change your meal plan option, I'd suggest getting the Cardinal plan. USC Hospitality totally revamped the plan so that you won't have to worry about not having enough meals for the week, and you have a reasonable amount of dining dollars. </p>
<p>Hope this helps, and best of luck to you this year!</p>