This question is for current or recent students...

My daughter is starting at TAMU in the fall and I need a recommendation for a meal plan. She'll be living ON campus (probably southside) and can be a reasonably finicky eater. I don't want to overdo the thing...so what's a good meals vs dining dollars ratio? I was looking at 100 to 150 meals and some amount of dining dollars...any suggestions?

Thanks!

Not sure how much they have changed in the 2 years since I have been there, but meal plans were a waste of money (unless you pigged out at Sbisa), especially if you do not want everything that comes with a meal. You are better off giving her aggie bucks and buying what she wants in a meal. Plus she can use aggie bucks for scantrons and laundry machines(certain locations on campus).

Well firstly, Aggie Bucks no longer exist. Secondly, I would never buy more than 7 meals/week for anyone except CTs. Thirdly, I agree that the more flexible and smarter option is more dining dollars/fewer meals, unless she plans on going to sbisa a lot. Fourthly, she will probably end up wasting enough meals at the end of the semester that you might come out ahead by just giving her money and not tying it up in something you can't use for other food. Meal plans are kind of like Chuck E Cheese tokens in that regard. Fifthly, is she cute? Rule #1.

Also, welcome to Aggieland to her.

My son starts this fall. He is a good eater, athletic/active, and will live in a South dorm.

We chose the 200 meals/125 dollars plan. We looked at his schedule and think he'll eat 15 meals/week on campus. Who knows for sure. If your child is a picky eater I would definitely buy fewer meals.

Spicewood, your son may very well eat 15 meals a week on campus, but I will be surprised if it happens. It just gets old.

no more aggie bucks?! that's awful.

i knew a girl whose parent's always bought her the largest meal plan, and the first week of school she would always go have it transferred into aggie bucks.

I assume your daughter (or son) would still be able to do this with meal dollars or whatever they are now if a week or two goes by and they aren't eating that much...but someone still in aggieland would need to answer that.

[This message has been edited by aggiespartan (edited 7/14/2010 6:12p).]

There are four ways to buy food, as I understand it:

1. Money. Cash, debit, or credit. One of the big three isn't accepted (Mastercard I think)
2. Wells Fargo Aggie Bucks Unlimited Gold Debit Card...its what replaced Aggie Bucks and is just a Wells Fargo Debit card. Requires a Wells Fargo Checking account and offers no discount (I don't think)
3. Dining Dollars. Works like a debit card for your ID. I think its like 3% or 5% off purchases on campus, like C store stuff and meals. I could be wrong about the discount.
4. Meals. You get certain stuff at certain food places on campus that count as a "meal" Usually about a $6 value if you were paying with real money, sometimes more, sometimes less.

When you live on campus, I don't think a meal plan is a bad idea, but unless you eat sbisa a ton (buffet), I think its smarter to go with dining dollars. Living off campus, almost definitely go with no meal plan.

[This message has been edited by GarlandAg2012 (edited 7/14/2010 6:37p).]

Side note: Laundry is free on campus.

Meal plans... First, if you have any remaining meals left at the end of the semester, they can be converted to dining dollars ($3 per meal plan). Also, $100 dining dollars will roll over to the next semester. They're only rolled over from fall to spring and spring to summer. Any dining dollars left over in the Spring (or in the summer if they're taking classes) are lost.

All meal plans come with $xxx of dining dollars already included. Rarely, students will use all of the meal plans that they initially plan to use and completely forget about the dining dollars (minus the occasional Scantron). I've seen countless freshman walk away with 100+ left over at the end of the semester.

It's a balance. MealPlans*3 + DiningDollars < $100. Otherwise, you walk with a loss. If you do end up with close to $100 at the end of the semester, you have to use all of the remaining dollars, plus whatever are included in the next semester's meal plan, plus 150-200 more meal plans. Anything remaining at the end of the academic school year is completely lost.

It's a racket, because most people don't realize this--especially if they're picky or they haven't realized Sbisa isn't a 5-star restaurant.

I've always stuck with the 150 meals and then bought extra bundles at the end if I ended up needing them. That's just me though.

laundry is free on campus? when did that happen?

This past school year I believe. I paid my fish year but I'm pretty sure it got changed to free last year.

I am not sure I have ever heard of anyone outside the corps finishing a 15 meals/week plan, but it is also a good way to make friends at the end of the semester by giving away free meals.

I used to love the fact I hardly paid for meals in Dec or May because there was always an 80% chance the person on either side of me in line would offer to pay using their meal plan.


Seriously, either give her the dinning dollars or frankly just give her straight up cash once a month. Maybe buy her a high meal plan the first semester, but people are right. People get tired of it by spring.

-being on southside, food will be handy, so chances are she'll eat it.
-from my experience, having a car=more off campus meals. I didn't have a car, so I ate every lunch and most dinners on campus. I was in the Corps though, so I can't give you a guess on meal numbers. I bought the small meal plan on the Corps option though (which requires me to buy breakfast) and usually came out okay.
-Also, class schedule/location will have an effect.

If we overbought - lesson learned, eh?

Definitely, spice. Pretty much everyone overbuys.

I have lived on campus the past two years. I have gotten 150 meal and 150 dining dollars every semester and I am here for summer school.

Dining dollars let you buy the stuff tax free at the C-store and in the dining facilities and you get 10% off meals.

I talked to the manager at the Rec this summer and she told me that they are moving a lot of the places to dining dollars and having the meals are only worth it if you eat lunch in Sbisa or the commons every day. If you eat lunch at Pie-R-Square, the Pavillion, the Underground, the Rec, or cowboy cafe on west campus then you need to get more dining dollars than meals. Also, tell your kids to buy snacks at the Rattlers stores and not snack machines. They added credit card swipe to all the Drink/snack machines and it is a waste of money.

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-from my experience, having a car=more off campus meals.

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Funny, I always remeber it being a pain to go eat out with friends on campus because they didn't want to leave if they had a good parking spot.

Well like I said, I was in the Corps, so we were stuck on campus all nights but Fri/Sat/Sun. So we took advantage of those times to eat real (non Duncan) food. I've never heard someone use that excuse for not leaving...kind defeats the purpose of the good spot.

The commons is straight up trash now when it comes to eating options. I lived southside for the first two years and I just couldn't eat at that ****hole unless I was getting a burger or a sandwich at common denominator.

Now they stopped cooking burgers so I don't get a bite to eat when I need a break from the library. Only go to get a Red Bull from the C-store.

Add in the long lines and the employees that couldn't give a **** (I wouldnt either if I worked there)? Absolute nightmare.

Better off biking to sbisa and filling up on legit and healthy food. I took sbisa for granted and I started eating there quite a bit more last semester as a junior. I'll probably go there more often my last year. The foods good and you'll get your share of veggies and fruit.

[This message has been edited by TheMasterplan (edited 7/19/2010 8:04p).]

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Add in the long lines and the employees that couldn't give a **** (I wouldnt either if I worked there)? Absolute nightmare.

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This. Living on north side was infinitely better in almost every way.

First, calling sbisa "legit and healthy" is a bit of a stretch. Maybe compared to commons food, but its still cafeteria food that gives you the runs.

Second, I've always found the dining services workers to be good and friendly, but I eat mostly ate sbisa and pi r square.

I agree with Commons dining services employees. Horrible. There is sometimes a line of 20+ and they still move in slow motion. All the dining places have gotten A LOT more crowded since the MSC closed.

Still, I lived on south side so I sucked it up and ate there. No it's not the best, but I had meal plans to use and it was the closest way to do so. Plus, the salads there are good, and so are Common Denominator sandwiches (never tried a burger in 4 years...I never had the time to wait around).

If your kid eats breakfast, go for the 15 a week. If your kid doesn't eat breakfast, go for the 10 a week. Let's face it, your kid will want to go out to eat on the weekends.

My son lived on South side last year and we bought too many meals. He had plenty left over. He often complained that the Commons had limited choices for food, that even the Chik-Fil-A there was bad and that the employees were worthless.

In retrospect I would have bought fewer meals and more dining dollars. No telling how much money we wasted.

Did it ever occur to any of you to tell your children to suck it up and use meal plans? If that's what you provide, they should use them... My buddies and I all survived on it for 4 years... it's wasteful to not spend meals. Sometimes you don't get what you want due to the maroon plate rules, but it's a much better deal than buying with dining dollars! Just tell them they get what's served and to get over it.

Ya, the MSC was bomb.

Every Monday=chicken fried steak.

I looked forward to eating lunch on those days.

And ya, Sbisa always gives you the runs. Good point. It's pretty much immediately too. Weird how that always happens. Just drink enough water and you'll be fine.

[This message has been edited by TheMasterplan (edited 7/20/2010 8:03p).]

Dude, I am right there with ya. Sbisa is one of the few dining establishments that can consistently cause an evacuation mere minutes after finishing my meal. And yet, I still go back.

Going into my senior year and my parents force me to get meal plans every semester. DEFINITELY go for more dining dollars. With meal plans you're VERY limited to the food you can get due to the ridiculous rule changes they keep making. (example, you can only get a meatball sandwich on Mondays, a turkey wrap on Tuesdays, etc.). With Dining Dollars you can at least get whatever you want. Plus you can get stuff at the C Store and maybe pick up a drink in between classes.

Also count me in for the group that misses the MSC. Chicken Fried Steak, the kinda-Chinese place, BBQ... man I miss it.

My son will be a freshman in the fall and living on-campus. We plan to get the 30 meal/$400 plan and add the 10 meal bundles for $65 (if he decides he likes eating at Sbisa) or just add dining dollars as we go. Since we live in CS, he will also have the option to come home for a good home-cooked meal and take leftovers back to the dorm with him.

Additional info: After running the numbers, I determined that the breakeven point (cost/meal) between the 150/$150 plan and the 30/$400 plan would require purchasing 6 additional meal bundles (90 meals total). Any meal bundles purchased over 6 would then cost less per meal than the 150 meal/$150 bundle. And I figure he can get about 40-50 meals from the $400 dining dollars, for a total of 150 meals. I figured this was the best bet for us without wasting money on possible unused meals. HTH

[This message has been edited by kristin87ag (edited 7/22/2010 1:34p).]

If he doesn't come home to eat a good home cooked meal, can I have his spot?

Sure, Garland...send me your email address.

I got the 5 meal plans/week (which was 75?) and still struggled to use it all up by the end of the semester. I tell all freshmen to get small meal plans or none at all.

[This message has been edited by cheer (edited 7/23/2010 11:33a).]

If you live on southside and care at all about eating healthy, you get to the point where you'd rather just make a sandwich in your room than eat the junk in the commons. Especially during the winter months when its too cold to walk to sbisa.

If you live on southside and care at all about eating healthy, you get to the point where you'd rather just make a sandwich in your room than eat the junk in the commons. Especially during the winter months when its too cold to walk to sbisa.

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you get to the point where you'd rather just make a sandwich in your room than eat the junk in the commons

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Pretty much