By Katherine Burgos
Correspondent
A new school year always brings about the same burning conversations on campus, whether that be parking, what places have the best and worst food, best housing options, and most importantly, meal plans. Despite paying thousands of dollars for meal plans, many students continue to rely on quick dorm meals, such as ramen and granola bars.
Sophia Datz, a senior at the College, like many students, initially struggled with her meal plan upon starting college. Finding accommodating foods at the dining hall and figuring out when to use meal equivalency or points were of high concern to Datz. “I was just reflecting on what it was like coming to the school and starting with the meal plan and the dining hall experience, and it was just really overwhelming and stressful, especially because of my anxiety.” This is a reality for many students at the College, and oftentimes, there is no one there to guide you in the right direction.
Students at the College wonder if meal plans are actually a fair representation of college eating habits, and luckily, I got to discuss this with a few students.
Meal plans at the College are broken down into a few different categories. The first category covers meal plans that grant students visits, or “swipes” into Eickhoff Hall, as well as Flex Points that act as dollars.
One Flex Point is equivalent to $1, and can be used at places such as the Convenience, or “C,” Store, T-Dubs, Brower Student Center locations and various cafés around campus. These meal plan opinions are divided into 19, 15 and 10 swipe plans into the dining hall, and with more swipes, less points are given.
The second category of meal plans, A La Carte and Apartment plans, are only available to upperclassmen. These students are able to select plans consisting of only Flex Points that range from about 1,200 points to over 2,000 points per semester.
The third category of meal plans is for commuters, which allows students to have either two or three swipes into the dining hall, along with a small amount of Flex Points.
Some students say Flex Points are a big factor when deciding what meal plan they will have. Students can become tired of eating at the dining hall for every meal, and often explore other dining options on campus. However, the College has other options available outside of what meal plans explicitly offer.
Students at the College can rely on the meal equivalency program, which allows them to convert one swipe into a maximum amount of $9.80 at most dining areas other than Eickhoff Hall. Meal equivalency can also be used after 9 p.m. at T-Dubs.
Yet, this wasn’t always the case.
Amelia DePaolis ‘25 shared how her experience during freshman year changed once she had access to meal equivalency.
“I definitely knew meal equiv used to be a thing so, like, there was the knowledge of what we didn't have, I guess. And I definitely remember running out of points,” DePaolis said. “So me personally, I might be a little bit of an outlier here, but I used [meal equivalency] every single day, consistently, in the morning to get a breakfast sandwich at the stud.”
Additionally, DePaolis also spent two years of her college experience living off campus, during which she had a commuter meal plan. DePaolis said she wished there was another plan in between what already exists to accommodate students who may reside off campus.
She also believes that A La Carte and Apartment plans may consist of too many points.
“I know people who really only get through them by paying for other people, which is fine, but I do know some people want to save money, and they don't really go to the dining hall that much. Why not allow for a plan that gives you less points, and then you're not wasting money?”
Meal equivalency has become a vital part of student life, and most current students at the College have never lived without it. With that being said, even with meal equivalency, there are still times where students would rather resort to making ramen rather than eating on campus.
Nicoletta Dinolfo, a transfer student who joined the College at the start of the Spring 2025 semester, is living on campus for the first time this semester. Dinolfo said she wishes she was given more information about meal plans when she transferred.
“I wasn't told about meal equiv. I bought what was just recommended, which is the 15 swipes a week plan, which I think is good if you're a freshman and you're starting off living by yourself,” Dinolfo said. “But definitely, I guess, depending where you live, it's not always the best.”
Dinolfo went on to say that she plans on switching her meal plan at the start of the Spring 2026 semester, as she feels that the plans consisting of only points better represents her eating habits.
By switching her meal plan, Dinolfo feels that she will have a great balance between eating on campus and making small meals in her apartment, especially with the C-Store as a resource.
“That would be good if I had just the points, because I'll make microwave meals, and I always eat breakfast [at my apartment]...I think that would be a perfect plan.”
Overall, students at the College seem to agree with meal plans, but there are some adjustments that could be made in order to better represent the eating habits of a typical college student. “So overall, just it's stressful and hard to navigate the dining hall because of how limited it feels for someone who struggles to plan out their meals. And while there's options and points, spacing them out just creates more stress; of like, do I want to eat or do I want to save my points.” says Datz.
