Dining hall

saraclark6
saraclark6 Posts: 5 Member
edited December 3 in Health and Weight Loss
For $2,850 do you think 14 meal swipes (2 per day) for the week is sufficient for a college dining hall? Is that too expensive or does it seem about right?

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    What?
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    Guessing it's for some college student dining plan. Since the OP doesn't state the length of the term (how many weeks) it's hard to say if it's a good value.

    It should be simple enough to divide the the total cost by the total number of meals and compare to what they would have to spend outside of the plan. The answer is left as an exercise for the student.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    saraclark6 wrote: »
    For $2,850 do you think 14 meal swipes (2 per day) for the week is sufficient? Is that too expensive or does it seem about right?

    It's hard to say not knowing what the meal prices are, and whether you are talking about buying an actual meal or making a meal out of a la carte items. My meal plan in college per semester was less than half of that and I struggled to spend it all, but that was many years ago.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    That depends a lot on what your other options are. Do you have the means to cook your own food rather than going to the dining hall? And if so, will you actually cook often enough that it's cheaper than eating at the dining hall? If you can't cook for yourself or realistically will not cook very often, then the dining hall may be your best bet even if it seems expensive.

    I will say that if you live in a dorm with a kitchen, don't assume you're going to use that kitchen to cook all your meals. I have never known a student to do that in my 17 years as either a student or faculty member. Other people tend to leave the kitchen in a mess, use it at the same times you want it, break things and then not report them for repair, take others' food out of the fridge, etc. But if you live in an apartment, then you might want to cook.
  • saraclark6
    saraclark6 Posts: 5 Member
    saraclark6 wrote: »
    For $2,850 do you think 14 meal swipes (2 per day) for the week is sufficient for a college dining hall? Is that too expensive or does it seem about right?
    saraclark6 wrote: »
    For $2,850 do you think 14 meal swipes (2 per day) for the week is sufficient for a college dining hall? Is that too expensive or does it seem about right?
    saraclark6 wrote: »
    For $2,850 do you think 14 meal swipes (2 per day) for the week is sufficient for a college dining hall? Is that too expensive or does it seem about right?
    saraclark6 wrote: »
    For $2,850 do you think 14 meal swipes (2 per day) for the week is sufficient for a college dining hall? Is that too expensive or does it seem about right?
    bpetrosky wrote: »
    Guessing it's for some college student dining plan. Since the OP doesn't state the length of the term (how many weeks) it's hard to say if it's a good value.

    It should be simple enough to divide the the total cost by the total number of meals and compare to what they would have to spend outside of the plan. The answer is left as an exercise for the student.


    For 1 semester 15 weeks
  • saraclark6
    saraclark6 Posts: 5 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    That depends a lot on what your other options are. Do you have the means to cook your own food rather than going to the dining hall? And if so, will you actually cook often enough that it's cheaper than eating at the dining hall? If you can't cook for yourself or realistically will not cook very often, then the dining hall may be your best bet even if it seems expensive.

    I will say that if you live in a dorm with a kitchen, don't assume you're going to use that kitchen to cook all your meals. I have never known a student to do that in my 17 years as either a student or faculty member. Other people tend to leave the kitchen in a mess, use it at the same times you want it, break things and then not report them for repair, take others' food out of the fridge, etc. But if you live in an apartment, then you might want to cook.


    No. We dont have access to cook. We strictly eat from the dining hall because it is the only place to go
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    It seems average from what I've seen. Not terribly cheap per meal ($13.50ish) but average. Usually a program that gives you X number of swipes is an all you can eat in one visit kind of program. If you plan accordingly by using swipes on bigger meals rather than grabbing very light meals, it would work.

    Out of curiosity, do they offer a 21 swipe plan and if so, how much does it cost? When I was in college, the drop in price per meal when you went from the 14 swipe to 21 swipe plan was really big. (As I'm sure it was intended to be in order to get people to buy it.)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    saraclark6 wrote: »
    For $2,850 do you think 14 meal swipes (2 per day) for the week is sufficient for a college dining hall? Is that too expensive or does it seem about right?
    bpetrosky wrote: »
    Guessing it's for some college student dining plan. Since the OP doesn't state the length of the term (how many weeks) it's hard to say if it's a good value.

    It should be simple enough to divide the the total cost by the total number of meals and compare to what they would have to spend outside of the plan. The answer is left as an exercise for the student.
    saraclark6 wrote: »
    For 1 semester 15 weeks

    So $2,850 / (14 meals per week x 15 weeks) = $13.57 per meal. That's high. Are you sure it is just for one semester?

    That's $759.92 for 4 weeks. I can feed myself for $200 a month. But then, I have a kitchen.

    If that is the correct price, and you have no other options, is there a work exchange program you can do to get the cost down?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I see that's about what Harvard charges, but that's for an unlimited plan.

    https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2018-05-23/what-to-know-about-the-cost-of-paying-for-meals-in-college
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,620 Member
    I live near a major U.S. university, mid-sized city in upper Midwest. The fully standalone meal option for students is 10-meal bundles for $7.75 per meal (pretty much all you can eat, dining halls only - they used to have some one-only entrees, but I'm not sure they do that anymore).

    The general public can also buy breakfast for $7.75, lunch or dinner for $10.50 (children cheaper, under 2 free), if they can find parking and tolerate eating with students.

    The food is surprisingly good, and there are many options (always salad/sandwich bars, etc.). If I did OMAD and hated cooking, I'd be financially tempted.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    saraclark6 wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »
    That depends a lot on what your other options are. Do you have the means to cook your own food rather than going to the dining hall? And if so, will you actually cook often enough that it's cheaper than eating at the dining hall? If you can't cook for yourself or realistically will not cook very often, then the dining hall may be your best bet even if it seems expensive.

    I will say that if you live in a dorm with a kitchen, don't assume you're going to use that kitchen to cook all your meals. I have never known a student to do that in my 17 years as either a student or faculty member. Other people tend to leave the kitchen in a mess, use it at the same times you want it, break things and then not report them for repair, take others' food out of the fridge, etc. But if you live in an apartment, then you might want to cook.


    No. We dont have access to cook. We strictly eat from the dining hall because it is the only place to go

    If you don’t have any other way to get food, then it sounds like the meal plan is your only option. You may be able to find a job on or near campus if money is a concern, and if you work in the dining hall, you might get free meals during your shifts. Look for jobs as early in the term as possible since positions on many campuses are filled quickly.
  • FitAndLean_5738
    FitAndLean_5738 Posts: 90 Member
    No that's way to expensive. For only 2 swipes a day? At my university, we get a dining hall pass that let's us eat as often as every half hour (and the dining halls are all you can eat buffet style dining halls), 8 meal credits to use over the course of the week (1 per meal period, 5 meal periods per day) and $100 that we can use throughout the semester .... all for $1,700.

    Consider buying another meal plan.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    edited December 2018
    FitAndLean_5738 wrote: »
    No that's way to expensive. For only 2 swipes a day? At my university, we get a dining hall pass that let's us eat as often as every half hour (and the dining halls are all you can eat buffet style dining halls), 8 meal credits to use over the course of the week (1 per meal period, 5 meal periods per day) and $100 that we can use throughout the semester .... all for $1,700.

    Consider buying another meal plan.

    It’s really hard to compare costs of two schools without more information to go on. Your university and OP’s university might be located in places where the cost of living is very different, and OP’s university might not offer the same types of meal plans as yours, among other differences.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    If that is what the university offers, then that is it. Either buy it or figure out another eating arrangement. You can keep food in a dorm but it'll only be shelf-stable food unless you can have a fridge. Even better if you can have a microwave.

    Or, consider getting another meal plan, for 1 swipe a day, and bring a Tupperware into the dining hall. It's not usually allowed, but we could always get away with dumping a bowl of cereal into a container, making an extra sandwich, or sticking hamburger patties, chicken and rice, noodles etc, into containers and filling up a backpack.
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