August has arrived, which means that we Bryant students have just about a month left of freedom until it’s time to move back to our home away from home. Hooray! But unfortunately, this means no more home-cooked meals (for now), and a diminishing bank balance that will only decrease as the days go by. Lucky for us, Bryant offers various dining options with various payment methods… two of those being “Dining Dollars” and “Bulldog Bucks”. I’m not going to lie, it took me until my junior year to actually understand the meal plan and payment options fully, so I’m going to lay them all out for those who are just as confused as I was.
Photo courtesy of bondbrothers.com
First things first, what are Dining Dollars and Bulldog Bucks, you may ask? Dining dollars actually come with your chosen meal plan. The higher your meal plan (aka, the 19 or 14), the less amount of dining dollars you get. So, if you try Salmo and realize you love it, chances are you won’t need too many extra dining dollars for other dining options! You can use dining dollars for (you guessed it!) alternative on-campus dining options. That includes Nick’s Place, Bulldog Bytes Cafe (in the library), Cafe a la Cart (in the rotunda), Scoops, and Ronzio’s. Note: You cannot use dining dollars at both Subway and Dunkin Donuts. Yes, it’s very inconvenient. However, you can use your bulldog bucks! Your bulldog bucks are more universal, so you can use them at every single dining location (yes, even Salmo if you run out of swipes!), as well as the post office if you need to send a package, or even the bookstore. Since every meal plan only comes with $25 Bulldog Bucks, you’re definitely going to need to add more. Now that we have that covered…
Meal Plan Options
The “19” Meal Plan
Salmo swipes per week: 19
Dining Dollars:$50
Bulldog Bucks: $25
Guest Passes: 5
This meal plan is perfect for athletes who need to take advantage of that “all you can eat” aspect of Salmo. This meal plan guarantees 3 meals a day Monday-Friday, and 2 on Saturday and Sunday, coming to a grand total of 19 meals for the week. As you can see, your dining dollars are pretty limited with this option.
#SpoonTip: You’ll always have that friend who has the 7 meal plan, and wayyy too many dining dollars. Don’t stress about refilling your Bryant card with extra cash money – they’ll probably offer to spot you Nick’s when it comes to the end of the year. Your money transfers over semester to semester, but not year to year! Use that ish up.
Photo courtesy of Caitie Veech
The “14” Meal Plan
Salmo swipes per week: 14
Dining Dollars:$125
Bulldog Bucks: $25
Guest Passes: 10
The standard meal plan that Bryant automatically assigns you to if you fail to choose your own. I personally think that this does make the most sense for incoming freshman because it guarantees 2 meals a day, 7 days a week in Salmo, and you’ll have a sufficient amount of dining dollars to get you through your Nick’s cravings. Another perk is that within the first two weeks of school, you can change your meal plan if you want. If you’re eating a lot less than 14 times a week, lower that ish to the 10 or 7. If you can’t get enough of Salmo, bump it up to the 19.
Now, $125 may seem like a lot of extra $$ at first, but forewarning, it goes very fast. In order to budget your dining dollars, you first want to think about how much money you spend at the other dining areas, on average. If you’re the type of person to consistently use your dining dollars on coffee from the cafes, you’re in the $3-$8 range. That means, you can splurge roughly once a week without running out. If your average is in the $8-$15 range, you can probably use your dining dollars twice or three times a month without running out.
Photo courtesy of Caitie Veech
The “10” Meal Plan
Salmo swipes per week: 10
Dining Dollars: $250
Bulldog Bucks: $25
Guest Passes: 15
This meal plan is a good transition for when you start to realize how little you actually use all 14 swipes at Salmo. Getting the 10 bumps your guest passes up to 15 for the semester, which is perfect in case you need to guest swipe yourself in, or your senior friends who need a quick bite to eat instead of walking all the way to their townhouse.
With $250 dining dollars for the semester, you’re looking at about spending a little less than $20 a week. If you’re trying to not have to reload your dining dollars, just try to keep track of the amount your spending per week! If you don’t buy coffee using your dining dollars for the week, know you can treat yo self to Ronzio’s on Friday night.
Photo courtesy of foodio54.com
The “7” Meal Plan
Salmo swipes per week: 7
Dining Dollars: $300
Bulldog Bucks: $25
Guest Passes: 15
If you’re an incoming freshman, I would definitely advise to not pick the 7 meal plan. You should continually decrease your meal plan throughout your years at Bryant, because you will get sick of Salmo. However, this meal plan is perfect if you realize that you’re more of a Nick’s or Ronzio’s kinda person.
Having the 7 plan my Junior year was clutch because I did not run out of dining dollars until final’s week! Plus, if you’ve noticed you’ve spent a lot during the week and have run out of swipes, you can use one of your 15 guest swipes to get yourself into Salmo. It’s the best of both worlds.
I hope this guide helps you choose which meal plan is right for you, and how to better budget your money! Go dawgs 🙂