Colleges with residential facilities understand the need to provide on-campus dining for students.

Students are usually too busy with the academic workload and other extracurricular activities to prepare meals for themselves.

For students to concentrate on their course work, these schools design meal plans which are included in the tuition fee through prepaid accounts. This gives students access to dining facilities located inside the campus. 

Some of these schools make these meal plans compulsory for all students, while others keep it optional. A few flexible dining options exist for students, depending on their budget and convenience. 

So what should you expect from your college meal plans? Let us find out.

•    Expect Big Meals 

Some universities offer buffet-style dining in a few of their select dining facilities. This is true for BU dining hall with meals that accommodate even the most gluttonous student. Whatever you preference is- vegan, gluten-free, or fat-free- their dining halls have meal plans to suit all diet types. The downside, however, is to watch out for your bulging waistline and being mistaken for being in your late fifties. Also, overeating could wreak havoc on your schoolwork while being bad for your health in the long run.

•    Expect To Dine with Friends & Family 

Many schools are beginning to see the value in providing for guests to eat within the campus. Students now have the choice to approve friends and family to eat on their cards. For the schools where this is not an option, your family or loved one can be allowed to pay for their meals with cash or credit card while using the dining facilities on campus.

•    Expect Dedicated Vegan Menus

Not all colleges have dining facilities on-site, but a few schools have taken considerable strides in their dining services offered to students by offering meals that cater exclusively for vegans. 

For example, all BU dining hall meal deals come with dedicated vegan options for vegan students or students making the transition into plant-based diets. This goes for all three dining facilities in the Boston University including Warren, Bay State as well as West.

Being vegan is the new trend, and many universities are beginning to meet the growing demand among students and school staff. 

•    Expect To Lose Money for Unused Meals

College meal plans, although flexible, are usually costly for the average student. In that same vein, it is better not to skip your meals as this simply means money tossed into the drain. Students are often encouraged to eat regularly with specials prepared in a few dining halls. However, for those who do not eat meals regularly, you can choose to spend your unused meal money in select grocery stores that accept these unused meals as currency.

Other schools take it a step further, making arrangements with local farmers markets or restaurants that make it possible to use these unused meals as a currency outside the campus. 

Rounding up, expectations from college meals differ from campus to campus. Some schools offer better dining services than others. Notwithstanding, it remains important for a student to take in the right amount of nutrition to perform well in school.

What do you think about college meal plans? Share you opinion with us, we’d love to hear from you.