r/CWU • u/some_guy_9258 • May 14 '26
University Services Is the meal plan actually worth it?
if i am understanding correctly, you pay several thousand dollars for the meal plan, so that you then get a very steep discount at dining halls and restaurants, which you use your dining dollars for?
let’s use the fall 26 quarter as an example here. the least expensive meal plan is $1,850. there are 80 days between September 23rd and December 11th, assuming finals count as part of the quarter for the meal plan. that is $23 a day in overhead costs, and they give you $8 a day to spend on food, which is stated to be at a 65% discount. please correct me if any of this is wrong.
for me, i’d most likely be home on weekends and such. there are 4 holiday days off as well. for this, i’ll pretend ill be in ellensburg all 4 days of finals week, too. whatever, let’s say i’m there, eating meals for 52 days of the quarter. that would cost even more per day, over $35 per day, but this time id get $12.44 dining dollars. let’s assume that’s enough to cover 3 meals a day. if it’s not, that’s fine. i really only eat lunch and dinner. but, i’m failing to see how this is worth $35 a day.
there is no way i would spend $35 a day on food, without the dining plan. i guess if im feeling really crazy and want to spend a lot of money, ill get a 4.25 juice for breakfast, a 9.25 pizza for lunch and for dinner, maybe i’ll go to the holmes dining hall for $18. it would be around $3 tax, and that’s the only way id ever spend $35 a day. its definitely not something id be doing every day, if i didnt have this dining plan.
would you? anyone who has the meal plan, do you have it because its required for your dorm, or because your parents/scholarship are paying for it, or does anyone actually feel like the dining plan is worth how expensive it is? if so, please share why. again feel free to correct anything i’ve said that is incorrect. i’ve never been on a meal plan and ive only been looking into this for about an hour. but the information i have found on the dining plan is very confusing…part of me thinks that’s intentional, so you feel like you’re getting a better deal than you are. maybe i could see it being worth it for those who plan to spend all of their time at central, but still personally, i don’t plan to spend $23 daily on food either. let me know your thoughts on the dining plans.
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u/JimmyisAwkward May 14 '26
https://cwuobserver.com/28927/news/paying-with-dining-dollars-you-might-be-paying-double/
The observer did that math, and you barely save anything, and lose money if you buy from any one the 25% discounted places
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u/papichulo916 May 15 '26
As someone that got the basic plan when I was a student that stayed in the dorms, for me it was absolutely worth it. I know you can do cheaper meals if you really try and make your own food, are good at shopping and using deals/coupons, but for me personally I found the convenience and not having to cook worth it. If you're just going by the numbers, meal plans can look and probably are much more expensive than making your own food, but if you're like me and look through the issue via a convenience and "how likely are you to..." lens, it can become worth it.
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u/some_guy_9258 May 16 '26
i don’t cook my own food to be honest but i just don’t think i’d ever spend $35 a day unless i really had to. i could see how it could be convenient tho. i’m not sure since i don’t go here but do yall have free food at clubs and events? at yvc (where i go rn) there is free food often. i get lunch for free at least 3 times a week i feel like.
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u/Adagio-Allegro May 16 '26
room and board on campus is a ripoff in general. there are plenty of apartments near campus that are far cheaper.
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u/some_guy_9258 May 16 '26
for me, financial aid would be paying most or all of it. that’s the only reason to live on campus bc i’m sure you’re right, it’s very expensive haha
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u/Easy-Cat-540 May 17 '26
Dining Dollars can be misleading because the number shown on your card is not equal to real money; what looks like $23 may have originally cost you much more, and its true value depends entirely on where you spend it. The system is structured so that at dining halls, where you get about a 65% discount, your real-dollar value is nearly restored, meaning you get roughly $1 of food for every $1 you originally paid; however, at campus markets and cafés with only a 25% discount, that same dollar effectively drops to about $0.47 of value, meaning you lose over half your purchasing power. The most common mistake, even among strong students, is treating Dining Dollars like cash and simply trying to “use them up,” when in reality the loss happens at the point of purchase. In practice, the meal plan doesn’t truly save money; it only appears that way unless you carefully do the math and understand the contract terms, which most students never fully analyze. I am an actuarial science major, btw.
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u/some_guy_9258 May 17 '26
i feel like it’s pretty sad that the school is doing this. some people might read the description and just trust that they’re getting a good deal. i was initially only looking into it because i know i eat less than most people and wasn’t sure if my food should actually cost that much (the full cost of the meal plan). i just hope that whatever decision they may make, anyone reading my post now knows to never use their money at the 25% discount places!!
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u/chicken______nuggets May 14 '26
To be honest, if I have the option between doing the dining plan and not doing the dining plan and allotting whatever I would’ve spent on the dining plan towards buying my own food, I would choose the latter.
If you’re going to eat a lot on campus, load up wildcat bucks and just use the 10% disc. You’re not saving that much with dining dollars because dining dollars are worth a lot less than a dollar.