DETAILS ABOUT THE Dining sERVICES
Dining services are an amenity that varies greatly from campus to campus. Some universities offer dining cards that are accepted at off-campus locations, some have mandatory meal plans and some offer options for those with specialty diets, like vegans and those with gluten intolerance.
Perhaps most important to students, and their parents, who often are the ones funding the college experience, is the price of the average meal plan. And because universities that offer the same academic resources, and universities that are in the same area, sometimes in the same state, have such different prices (see the graph below) the price of a meal plan may be the ultimate deciding factor in which college a student chooses to attend.
Secondly, and sometimes just as important of a factor in making a decision on which campus to attend is whether or not the college has a required meal plan, and to what extent it reaches. Several, but not all of the SEC universities have some sort of required meal plan, which can be a positive, or negative thing depending on who is making the decision. Because a mandatory meal plan means mandatory spending, and a typical semester meal plan is more than $1,000 per semester, it is something that should be considered when planning to attend a college, and deciding whether to live on campus or off.
The following are the universities that have required meal plans, and the details of each one.
The following links will take you to each college's dining services page for more meal plan information.
Perhaps most important to students, and their parents, who often are the ones funding the college experience, is the price of the average meal plan. And because universities that offer the same academic resources, and universities that are in the same area, sometimes in the same state, have such different prices (see the graph below) the price of a meal plan may be the ultimate deciding factor in which college a student chooses to attend.
Secondly, and sometimes just as important of a factor in making a decision on which campus to attend is whether or not the college has a required meal plan, and to what extent it reaches. Several, but not all of the SEC universities have some sort of required meal plan, which can be a positive, or negative thing depending on who is making the decision. Because a mandatory meal plan means mandatory spending, and a typical semester meal plan is more than $1,000 per semester, it is something that should be considered when planning to attend a college, and deciding whether to live on campus or off.
The following are the universities that have required meal plans, and the details of each one.
- The University of Kentucky- All students living in a residence hall automatically have the minimum meal plan as a part of their housing contract.
- Auburn University-This university has a required meal plan for all undergraduate students, whether or not they live on campus. The only exception is summer semester, when there is no required amount.
- Louisiana State University-All 1st and 2nd year on-campus students are required to participate in a meal plan, the minimum costing $1,809 per semester.
- Alabama-All freshmen are required to purchase the Freshman Year Experience Meal Plan, which covers unlimited meals, seven days a week for $1, 525 per semester.
- Texas A&M- All new-to-housing Freshmen are required to have a minimum $1,200 dining plan (or larger) each semester of the academic year.
- Tennessee- Students living on campus, in specific residence halls are required to select a residential meal plan, which start at $1566.00. The following halls meet this requirement: North Carrick, South Carrick, Humes, Reese, Gibbs and Morrill Hall.
- Mississippi State-All freshmen are automatically enrolled in the most expensive meal plan, $1,424 per semester, but can switch to a less expensive option, $1,320 per semester.
The following links will take you to each college's dining services page for more meal plan information.
- The University of Florida
- The University of Kentucky
- The University of Georgia
- The University of Arkansas
- The University of South Carolina
- Auburn University
- Louisiana State University
- The University of Alabama
- Texas A&M University
- The University of Missouri
- The University of Tennessee
- Vanderbilt University
- Ole Miss
- Mississippi State
Meal Plan Rates 2012-2013
Below are the meal plan rates for each university during the 2012-2013 school year.