Choosing Your Dining Plan
If you’re just entering college, chances are that you’re used to having most of your meals prepared for you. Once you move out of your parents’ house and into your new dorm, you’ll have to start cooking your own meals, order out, or purchase a college meal plan – or, more frequently, some combination of the three. At first glance, a meal plan seems like the easiest choice; you’ll pay a fixed amount of money before the semester begins for a certain number of meals per week/semester. Many colleges require freshmen to order meal plans; upperclassmen may have more freedom to decide which plan best suits their needs. Some colleges require students to enroll in the meal plan when living in on-campus housing.
Before you decide which meal plan is right for you, check to see if your financial aid package covers all or at least part of your dining costs. If your meals are expected to come out of your student contribution, you may want to consider several alternatives – otherwise the cost of eating could put a major strain on your finances.
If you swipe into a dining hall just to grab a bagel or a piece of fruit, you’re spending just as much money as you would on a full-course dinner. Students who eat light breakfasts or skip breakfast altogether are better off ordering a meal plan that provides fewer swipes.
Consider the cost of eating daily in dining halls:
Cereal- $10 swipe
Hoagie- $10 swipe
Chicken and Rice- $10 swipe
Versus buying the same amount of food on your own:
Cereal- $2 per serving
Subway Sandwich- $6
Halal Platter- $5
Students who are used to cooking might be better off skipping the meal plan altogether. If this sounds like the right choice for you, first make sure that you’re staying in a dorm that has a kitchen, and consider investing in a mini-fridge. Check the local area around your campus to make sure you’ll have easy access to groceries; if the nearest market is several miles away, it may not be worth making the trip.
Of course, there are several advantages to dining halls. For one, they’re right on campus, so you’ll never be too far from a warm meal. Dining halls can also be great places to interact with other students, especially for freshmen. Even if you plan on cooking or buying your own meals, you might want to consider buying a smaller meal plan (say seven meals a week) as a safeguard; with so much coursework, you may not always have the time to cook.
Here are some examples of popular universities and the various dining plans they offer:
Columbia University
https://dining.columbia.edu/content/dining-plans
Note- Columbia lets you purchase a certain number of meals per week or per term. Be careful; 210 meals for an entire semester may seem like a lot, but it only covers about ten weeks.
University of California, Los Angeles
Note- At UCLA, meal plans are purchased together with housing accommodations.
University of Georgia
Note- Rather than counting the number of swipes per student, UGeorgia’s meal plans allow students unlimited access to its various dining locations during meal hours. Several of UGeorgia’s plans include “Paw Points,” money that can be used for purchases at certain locations on campus. These points can’t be used outside of campus, though, so you may be better off using regular money when making extra purchases.
Tufts University
Note- Freshmen are automatically enrolled in the premium meal plan, which gives students unlimited access to Tufts’ two dining centers. Upperclassmen may choose instead to order a certain number of swipes per semester.
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