Food, etc
I'm starting to get really excited about not having a meal plan next year. I've never found the dining hall food to be wonderful - though it's certainly tolerable, and even good sometimes. However, the big problem is that even in the buffet-style dining halls, there is VERY little selection in any given day, and very little variety on a weekly basis. When I eat there, I usually find myself settling for food that I don't really like (or that I am tired of eating) just because there is nothing else and I'm hungry.
The advantages, of course, are the convenience of walking in to find readily-prepared food and the social aspect of dining with friends. However, what are we willing to pay for convenience? Most meal plan prices budget for roughly $10 per meal. If you count all of these meals as "dining out" that starts to make sense. After all, the cost covers the dining hall employees, the facility, and all the food (eaten or uneaten). But if you consider that this food is substandard to most restaurants AND that it's not good to eat that type of food on a daily basis, the advantages start to pale in comparison to the costs. Realistically, you can eat BETTER, healthier food for LESS money if you shop for your own groceries and cook your own food. And the social aspect, for me, is covered as I live in a house with 16 other girls, several of whom are also without meal plans. It may not take less TIME overall (but probably not much more), and I may miss out on the occasional "dining hall" social engagement... But I have definitely noticed myself dining there as a "social" event less often each year, and I can always meet people for food at a local restaurant or bring my own food and eat just outside of the dining hall. There may even be the occasional time when I select to dine at the "a la carte" style dining hall. But it will ALWAYS be cheaper and healthier to go without a meal plan.
The advantages, of course, are the convenience of walking in to find readily-prepared food and the social aspect of dining with friends. However, what are we willing to pay for convenience? Most meal plan prices budget for roughly $10 per meal. If you count all of these meals as "dining out" that starts to make sense. After all, the cost covers the dining hall employees, the facility, and all the food (eaten or uneaten). But if you consider that this food is substandard to most restaurants AND that it's not good to eat that type of food on a daily basis, the advantages start to pale in comparison to the costs. Realistically, you can eat BETTER, healthier food for LESS money if you shop for your own groceries and cook your own food. And the social aspect, for me, is covered as I live in a house with 16 other girls, several of whom are also without meal plans. It may not take less TIME overall (but probably not much more), and I may miss out on the occasional "dining hall" social engagement... But I have definitely noticed myself dining there as a "social" event less often each year, and I can always meet people for food at a local restaurant or bring my own food and eat just outside of the dining hall. There may even be the occasional time when I select to dine at the "a la carte" style dining hall. But it will ALWAYS be cheaper and healthier to go without a meal plan.