While you can find a basic list of Emerson’s meal plans on their website here, what the meal plans don’t tell you, particularly freshman, is which one would be right for you.
Below you’ll find a breakdown each meal plan and what type of person would probably want to go with each option.
Note: This is solely a break down of on campus meal plan options, and does not include commuter student options.
1. Flex Plan
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Everyone is assigned this plan as a default. This meal plan gives you 101 dining hall swipes and $650 Board Bucks.
For those who don’t know, board bucks can be used at Emerson facilities such as the C-Store, the Max Cafe, and the Paramount Cafe. They do not transfer over to following years if you don’t spend them all.
101 dining hall swipes basically equates to less then one swipe a day for each day of the week. A lot of people find Sodexo hard to eat, so a lot of Emersonians don’t eat at the dining hall this much anyway.
This meal plan would be a good option for someone who plans to buy some of their own food, go out to eat on occasion, and not want to spend every day at the dining hall.
2. Unlimited Plan
Photo by Alyssa Perkins
This meal plan is an extra $68 per semester onto room and board. With the unlimited plan, you get unlimited swipes into the dining hall, but only $150 in board bucks.
This plan would likely be a good option for those wanting to eat ‘traditional’ college style, spend a lot of time in the dining hall, and probably if you live in LB.
I’m not saying people rooming in other buildings won’t want this option, but it’ll be much more tempting to pick up chicken fingers in the Max if you live in Piano Row, than to want to run through the snow to the dining hall in LB.
#SpoonTip: If you do choose this option, here are some suggestions of the best foods to eat at the dining hall.
3. Block Plan
Photo by Alyssa Perkins
This meal plan is an additional $55 a semester onto room and board. With this meal plan, you get only 80 swipes into the dining hall, but $800 of board bucks.
This plan would be a decent option simply if you don’t want dining hall food (and/or live in a dorm far enough away you don’t want to have to go to LB for food), but also plan on eating mostly on campus and not going out to eat a lot or at all.
It is easy to get tired of the same old offerings of the three Emerson eateries (see this article on the Max for more info), so this option may not be the best use of your money. But if you feel like you’ll eat in a lot, then go for it.
Hopefully I provided some insight into your meal plan options and which one you’d most want to pay for. To all incoming freshmen, good luck and when it comes to the food, just remember: it could be worse.