For those college parents that know ...

[justjulie]

can you tell me what is a reasonable amount for a food plan? My son's school has a mandatory $1,200 meal plan but, broken out over 30 weeks, works out to a mere $5.71 a day and I cannot imagine an 18 year old athlete surviving on that amount.

What is a reasonable top up to his plan - how much does your child spend on food at school. He has already decided he will make his own breakfast ...

Any advice is welcome!

 

[monkey68]

Is the $1200 for the year or hte semester? Also what's reasonable or not depends on how expensive food is at the college. Some colleges charge different prices depending if you're paying with a meal plan or out of pocket. Some colleges have cheap food. When I was in college, I had $500 a semester but I didn't eat on campus that much because the food just wasn't that good, and I could get the same stuff for cheaper off campus. I also had a mini fridge, so I would have frozen dinners and things I could just microwave.

If he runs out, can he add more money? Meal plans that are paying with a set amount isn't really anything more than a glorified debit card, so worse comes to worse, he runs out of money and he just pays out of pocket.

 

[RN4Babies]

can you tell me what is a reasonable amount for a food plan? My son's school has a mandatory $1,200 meal plan but, broken out over 30 weeks, works out to a mere $5.71 a day and I cannot imagine an 18 year old athlete surviving on that amount.

What is a reasonable top up to his plan - how much does your child spend on food at school. He has already decided he will make his own breakfast ...

Any advice is welcome!

It really depends on what's offered on campus, and how your son chooses the options available to him. My niece went to a big ten school; she's also an all star athlete, and a HUGE eater. She always went to the cafeterias on campus and did the hot entrees/salad bar instead of paying for things individually ala carte style. She was able to get 2nds (and 3rds ) on entrees, starches, salad, desserts if she did the buffet line.

Some schools have changed their payment method, and have you present your meal card after you make your selections, so then you have to pay if you go through the line a second time. I'd find out which is the case where your son is going to school. If he has to pay for each trip through a cafeteria, then I agree that $5+ per day isn't sufficient.

 

[FINFAN]

thats cheap...my DD's was $5100 for the year last year ( including tax ) No way did my 5'3" 100 lb kid eat that much food in 8 months, heck , we spent about 8000 the whole 12 months for our family of 4 whle she was still home, and that included DH work lunch fund and eating out! She did love the food tho, but rarely made it to breakfast. Thank heavens she is in an apt this year and of that mandatory food plan, will save us at least $3500. does the plan break down how many meals oer week? My DD's was 19...3 a day M-F and then 2 on Sat/Sun. Some school have options of 7, 14 or 19 per week, also flex cards where the can have an amoount on them to buy extra meals if they wish. try the schools website, there should be a page that shows the breakdown of tuition/fees/room board etc.

 

[Darcy03231]

DS' school just did it by the meal. We bought him the 14 meal per week plan. It allowed him to have 14 meals of his choice in the cafeteria (basically two a day). The first semester we did the 19 meals per week plan and he found he didn't eat all his meals there so we dropped it down.

 

[onelilspark]

When I was a Freshman it was about $1200 for the semester. I didn't even use it all. But I'm not an athlete. My advice is to check to see if it is for the YEAR or for the SEMESTER. Then stick to the basic. If it is in fact for the semester, at the end, you'll have girls like me who didn't use it all, but were forced to buy in at the same level. I wound up selling some of mine for half. At most schools you can add to it, but you can't take it away unless someone is "buying" it.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

My DH's second job at night is as a cook and supervisor of student workers at a college that does the same thing, so I called and asked him what he thought.

He agreed that it would be best if he did his own thing for breakfast. If they have a choice of 1, 2, or 3 meals per day, he recommended 2. He won't even have time to go get breakfast a lot of the time, and even at 2 meals a day, there will probably be a lot of meals he won't use, if he comes home on weekends or anything.

Hope this helps!

 

[Green Tea]

How does the plan work? If the basic buys X number of meals a week, then you can figure out how many meals he would eat. If the charge per item, then yes, $1200 is low. I think my ds's was about $4K for the year, and it was charged per item, like in a cafeteria.

 

[shortbun]

I think I'd go with the minimum and let him discover how the food quality suits him and then add if necessary. My neice and nephew both eat off campus as much as possible. If they still have money on their dining card at the end of the quarter, then they begin to get creative and eat at the student center or dining halls.

 

[amid chaos]

Our DS is getting the unlimited meal plan. Food available 24/7...he's active and always makes wise food choices. It will be interesting to see if he gains weight.

 

[justjulie]

Here's how it works:

$1,200 per YEAR which breaks down to $600 per semester. Each semester is 15 weeks long. They do not break it down into "x" number of meals it is $600 per semester - period.

There is a cafeteria but there is not "unlimited servings" - you pay for everything a la carte. There is a Subway, Tim Hortons and Pizza Pizza on site.

He is staying in residence and will not be home on weekends - he's almost three hours away so he's there to stay. He is an athlete and for those of you who live with them, you understand how starving they are after practice and when working out daily, they need the caloric intake.

Oiii ... I'm not sure $600 a semester will suffice but I don't know how much to top him up. Add to that the fact I think I should purchase a cow for the amount of milk he drinks ...

Further suggestions welcome!

 

[Luv2Scrap]

Well it would see to me like that wouldn't be enough, but it's hard to know how they are pricing things. Can you see how prices are, and add on later as needed? I would think that would be the best scenario, if possible!

 

[mamacatnv]

I personally found navigating the meal plans more confusing than figuring out the housing.

Sons school had 4 options ranging from $3,175 to $4,495 for Fall & Spring semester combined. The system was based on "swipes" 1 meal = 1 swipe regardless of what time of day and "Foodbucks" which is credits on their cards that could be used at any of the food/coffee/smoothie places on campus.

The options are: An all you can eat food court style cafeteria, several cafes where one could get a meal package (Burger, fries, salad and a drink) and the local Dominoes Pizza took meal swipes in exchange for pizza.

The top at $4,495 is basically 3 meals a day 7 days a week - the plan is weekly and all unused swipes go away at midnight on Wednesdays. Use it or lose it. This plan is recommended for the student who is coming from out of the area, will not have transportation and has parents that want to be assured that no matter what their kid will have access to food the entire semester.

The 3 levels below are based on a number of "swipes" per semester, they do not go away and any unused can be rolled to the spring semester or at the end of spring can be cashed into "foodbucks" to use the following year. (That is what we did). For the fall semester we bought son the biggest plan that was roll over able, for the spring since he had so many unused swipes we bought him the lowest plan. In the end he had approx 80 meal swipes left over that he converted into "Foodbucks" at $3 each that he can use on campus this coming fall.

He had his own car, we live 8 miles from the campus, he works part time off campus so he had lots of food options. We kept him stocked with cereal, milk, bread etc. We spent $3,625 on his plans.

 

[bumbershoot]

"There is a cafeteria but there is not "unlimited servings" - you pay for everything a la carte. "


That's how our food plan worked too. So the important thing for you will be to find out what they charge for things. Our food service area had very very LOW prices on things, when paying with points (cash, too, actually). So 5.71 wouldn't be the same as 5.71 out on the street.

I would contact his coach for the sport he'll be participating in, or if he has access to some of the older students on his team, to see what they did for the food plans. At our school the football players were all pretty much on the "football" plan (even though we had and have an awful team), and the swimmers had the "big" plan as well, as did the openweight rowers. (and there ends my knowledge of what different sports at my school did with the food plan, LOL)

Also contact the registrar to see if it can be changed up during a school term.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Are you sure that it's not $1200/semester? My school worked like that and our minimum was that. $1200/semester was way too much for me, but I am a tiny girl. I overheard a lot of guys in the campus food places that they had run out of money so unless your son is a bird, $1200 might not be enough. There are a lot of factors to think about when deciding the right amount for him.

1- Does the amount not used in the fall semester transfer over to spring semester?
2- Is his school fairly close to your home? If so, is it possible he would come home on the weekends once in awhile? Thus, not eating there 24/7.
3- The markup on campus food is insane.
4- Can you add on to the meal plan at a later date? My school used a card that had our dining plan on it and the option of using it as a debit card on campus - for food, using the copy machine, printers, etc.
5- Is there a kitchen in his dorm and a grocery store nearby that he can get to easily? This is dangerous though. A lot of kids, including myself, thought that it'd be smart to save money and buy bottled water and whatnot at the grocery store versus on campus. This is why I was left with so much money my freshman year.

Ughhh.. I don't miss having a dining plan. I had it both my freshman and sophomore year and on the day my parents were moving me out we had to go to the campus food stores and load up on cases of pop and water and whatever food was left so we didn't lose our money.

 

[justjulie]

To answer some of the questions:

Residence is $6,400 - which includes a mandatory $1,200 meal plan - so the $1,200 is for the entire year which works out to $600 per semester.

He cannot come home on weekends - it's almost three hours away and he has no car.

Apparently there is a stove on every other floor in the common area - maybe he'll have to learn to cook or go hungry!

Bottled water is expensive - almost $3 per bottle so he's taking a few cases with him. I told him he can throw a blanket over the water cases and make a water table for extra storage. Unbelievable when we can buy a CASE of water for $2.00 when it's on sale and they a bottle for the price of a case!

You can top up the food plan, in $50 increments, at the bookstore at any time.

 

[onelilspark]

Wow. I can't believe it's $1200/YEAR! Geez...

Can he add through the year if necessary?? If so, I'd still start him out with that basic plan and then after say 3 months, reevaluate.

ETA: We must have been typing at the same time I'd either start at the $1200 or a little more. You may find that the dining halls discount. Then go up from there. OR! I just had an inspiration! If he's an athlete, can he talk to his coach? Can he give you any advice?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Here's how it works:

$1,200 per YEAR which breaks down to $600 per semester. Each semester is 15 weeks long. They do not break it down into "x" number of meals it is $600 per semester - period.

There is a cafeteria but there is not "unlimited servings" - you pay for everything a la carte. There is a Subway, Tim Hortons and Pizza Pizza on site.

He is staying in residence and will not be home on weekends - he's almost three hours away so he's there to stay. He is an athlete and for those of you who live with them, you understand how starving they are after practice and when working out daily, they need the caloric intake.

Oiii ... I'm not sure $600 a semester will suffice but I don't know how much to top him up. Add to that the fact I think I should purchase a cow for the amount of milk he drinks ...

Further suggestions welcome!

Have you checked the athletic program he is into? I know at my dd's college they fed the football players.

I would start there to see if they have suggestions for you.

 

[Green Tea]

FWIW, we went with the highest meal plan for our DS. It is charged like yours, all a la carte. The last thing I wanted him to worry about his first semester was if he was spending too much on food and would he run out at the end of the semester.

Being able to up it at anytime, maybe you don't have to worry. Who is the caterer? If its Aramark, the costs are fairly high, according to the kids i know who are plans at various colleges using Aramark as the caterer.

 

[justjulie]

Thanks again everyone.

He's a soccer player and they are not (a) fed or (b) given any discount. Add that to the fact that the boy can go through a gallon of milk in less than two days - especially after he comes home from a game - and I think he's in trouble.

I thought about helping to stock his fridge freezer but we all know what dorms are like - there are four boys in one dorm space - somehow I don't think any food is safe if put in the fridge or freezer!