The deadline for students to make a decision on meal plans is Sept. 9, but not all plans are created equal.
For students on a budget looking to get the most value from their meal plans, opting for plans with more meals at Couch Restaurants is the most cost effective.
There are three parts to a meal plan: meals, meal exchanges and meal points.
OU offers plans that range from six meals and 600 points to 12 meals and 150 points. The cost for any freshman meal plans is $1,824.
Meals are meant to be used at Couch Restaurants and are valued at $11, according to data provided by OU Housing and Food Services spokeswoman Lauren Royston.
Meal points are designed to be used at all campus dining locations and are worth $1 each. Meal exchanges are used at all dining locations and are worth $7 at all locations outside of Couch accepting meal exchanges.
“While meals are designed to be used at Couch Restaurants,” Royston said. “The meal exchanges are really designed to give students flexibility.”
Despite the flexibility that may come with some plans, such as using points at Xcetera, not all plans are cost-effective.
The value of the six meals a week and 600 points plan is actually $204 less than the $1,824 that students paid for in the first place. Adding the $600 or 600 points with 102 meals per semester, valued at an estimated $10 a meal, that total is $1,620.
On the other end, students who choose the 12 meals and 150 points option, their plan’s value is actually $366 more than the original price.
By choosing to spend more meals at the cafeteria, students can get more food for their money.
And no matter what plan students choose, using meals at the cafeteria instead of exchanges at other locations gives customers a better return.
Meal exchanges allow students to use their meals at any restaurant on campus; however, they have a much lower dollar value than when using your meals at Couch. If students eat eight meal exchanges a week, they are getting the equivalent of a $56 in food, whereas eight meals at Couch gives the equivalent of $80 in food.
Meals and exchanges are renewed weekly on freshman meal plans. They do not roll over and any meals left after midnight Sunday is money lost. Meals on upperclassman plans, however, last the entire semester.
Despite the apparent cost advantages, some freshmen must also weigh the costs of what is convenient for them.
“I don’t know which plan to get,” University College freshman Clarice Munoz said. “It seems like everyone else has more meals than me. I don’t want to have so many meals that I let them go to waste.”
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melmo 9 months ago
I think housing and food needs to be more clear about what meal plans really mean when they ask students to pick a plan- it is kind of confusing and should be their responsibility, not the Daily's, to explain that to students since it's their service.