During Christmas break of my sophomore year, I decided to reevaluate my meal plan. Actually, I reevaluate my meal plan after each semester. But during this evaluation, I decided to get rid of my meal plan all together. My decision was based on what made the most sense financially and on my desire to make my own meals in my dorm more often.
So my advice is to take a good look at the different meal plan options. One benefit of a meal plan is that your food costs are already covered at the beginning of the semester. You are also guaranteed a variety of options of meat, veggies, fruit, etc. that would be hard to generate on your own. Additionally, eating at a dining hall is great for meeting with friends or making new friends. When I was a freshman, all of my friends had meal plans, and a group of us would go to dinner together almost every night.
On the downside, meals at the dining hall are generally more expensive than if one were to cook for themselves or eat out at somewhere like Noodles and Company or Qdoba. Many people feel a certain security in having a meal plan with a guaranteed number of meals, but then fail to eat at the dining hall enough. And when I decided to drop the meal plan, there was no problem for me with using a payment method other than my dining hall card.
For me it came down to a few factors. I did not have as many friends with meal plans this year. Also, I enjoyed cooking on my own when I had the chance. Even when I was on the meal plan, I wasn't eating at the dining hall often enough to make it worth it.
What's your dining hall story?
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