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Will you want breakfast on Thursdays next March? Will you be more likely to eat pizza or pot roast for dinner two months from now? Choosing a meal plan for your first year of school can seem absurd and confusing. How do you know what your dietary lifestyle will be like when you've never had the freedom to live on your own? With a little bit of introspection and a dining contract in hand, though, choosing a meal plan becomes a piece of cake.

First-year college students living on campus are usually required to purchase a meal plan simply because college officials don't want students to stress over basic necessities, such as food and shelter, while getting used to living on their own. However, many colleges give students some freedom in deciding which meal plans to sign up for. That's where the process becomes a little tricky. Pick a plan that gives you too much food, and you'll be wasting money. Pick a plan with too little food, and you'll be wasting away. In general, there are two types of meal plans. Your college may use a single method, or give you the option to mix and match styles. Prices vary widely across the nation based on geography, the type of plan, and the vendors with which your college has negotiated.

What May Be on Your School's Meal-Plan Menu
Fixed Meals: These enable you to visit dining halls during specified hours for a cafeteria-style meal, most likely in an all-you-can-eat atmosphere with a variety of food stations.

Dining Dollars: With this plan you have a fixed amount of credit that can only be used for food purchases. Treated just like cash, the dollars can be used at any dining establishment your college allows. Some fixed meal plans may allow you to eat at an alternate dining location using an equivalent dining dollar credit. For example, in exchange of a meal in the dining hall you could go to a snack bar and have the equivalent of $4.50 to spend on whatever you'd like.

Making Your Choice
Before you can enjoy your school's dietary delights, though, you've still got to pick a single meal plan. To get the most for your money, keep the following suggestions in mind.

First, take a look at your dining habits now, but realize they may be different three months after starting school. "What we tell students is that their dining habits will change because they're living on their own for the first time. Aim on the higher side when choosing a meal plan and then change it accordingly in the spring semester," suggests Todd Littrell, food service director at Clemson University (Clemson, SC).

Nicole Robbins, a sophomore at Salem State College (Salem, MA) agrees. "I realized that having one of the larger meal plans was the best route to go. Some weeks you may eat more than others, so don't short your meal plan unless absolutely necessary," she said. "If you have the option to change your meal plan at the end of the first semester, take a large plan now and see how often you're on campus and when and how you eat."

Nicole's suggestion brings up two important points. First, check out your dining services contract and determine if you are allowed to change meal plans each semester. Will your school refund unused dining dollars or carry them over to the next semester? Many schools have no return policy for unused meal money. Also, will your school allow you to make meal plan changes once classes start, such as adding or decreasing dining dollars?

Next, determine how often and where you'll eat on campus. Will you be visiting the parents every weekend or only on holiday breaks? Will an off-campus job make eating at school difficult? Will you have transportation to off-campus supermarkets and restaurants where you're more likely to eat? Will your lunchtime classes be located on a side of campus away from dining halls that will utilize your meal plan? You'll soon discover just how important food is in your college life... studying over late-night pizza, meeting friends in the dining hall, celebrating a good grade with a sinful meal. Think about the previous dining questions and be smart about choosing a meal plan, but also be sure to allow yourself enough room for having fun!

Variety and Healthier Options
So, now that you know how you can spend your meal plan money, what are you going to eat? Dining options abound as colleges are responding to students' demands.

Colleges are increasingly offering dining alternatives to fit their students' specialized diets. Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA) provides vegetarian and vegan meals made with organic ingredients. Duke University's (Durham, NC) vegetarian co-op lets students prepare their own food. Most colleges make sure that vegetarian and ethnic dishes are always on the menu in dining halls. Eating Kosher is now much easier, as well, with Kosher meal plans available at schools such as Boston University (Boston, MA), which will soon have a dining hall with two exhibition stations for Kosher meal preparation.

There's good news, too, for students who aren't particular about what they eat but just want to be sure there are lots of choices. Many colleges have plans which allow students to use dining dollars at upscale campus restaurants or to purchase food through chain restaurants on campus such as Chili's and Pizza Hut. "Dining halls get old after a while and you want to be able to go out with your friends," says Litrell. "Restaurants and snack bars are a nice change of pace without having to leave campus."

Duke University students can use meal plan points to order takeout food from 13 local restaurants. The College of New Jersey (Ewing, NJ) offers a restaurant with table service as well as The Rathskeller, which serves pub-style foods along with big-screen movies and live bands. Across the nation, colleges routinely offer a wide variety of choices such as ice cream stands, bakery and coffee shops, and mini malls full of snack food choices, as well as specialty theme nights in dining halls.

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