Choosing a College Meal Plan

Selecting a meal plan is a very important decision that all students encounter in college. When
deciding on a meal plan, a student must consider how much money they are willing to spend on a
meal plan as well as their regular eating habits, because each meal plan is fit for different needs.
At the University of Massachusetts, freshman and sophomores are required to purchase a
residential meal plan while all other students may choose between the residential meal plans and
the “Your Campus Meal Plan,” or YCMP. The different meal plans are catered to different
lifestyles and preferences, so it is important that students understand the various options.

Below are four options that students choose from at UMass Amherst. Following the four options
are some conclusion analyses that are aimed at making their decisions easier.

Option 1: Buy the Value Plan

• $1795.00 per semester
• 224 meals for each semester (average of 14 meals per week)
• 9 meal exchanges (Pita Pit, Bluewall, etc)
• 15 guest meals

The Value Plan is ideal for students who eat an average of 2 meals per day or occasionally
leave campus on weekends. If a student uses up all of the 9 meal exchanges, then this would
be equal to spending $7.70 per meal for the semester. If none of the meal exchanges are used,
then the equivalent price per meal is calculated to be $8.01.

Option 2: Buy the Unlimited Plan

• $2090.00 per semester
• Unlimited amount of meals for each semester
• 12 meal exchanges
• 15 guest meals

The Unlimited Plan is best fit for students who regularly eat 3 or more meals daily. If a
student uses up all 12 meal exchanges, then this meal plan is equivalent to spending $6.83 per
meal as a student who eats 3 meals every, $5.17 per meal as a student who eats 4 meals every
day, and so on with respect to the equation 2090/(14*7*x + 12) where x equals the number of
meals per day, 14 is the assumed number of weeks in one semester, and 12 is the number of
meal exchanges.

Option 3: Buy a Your Campus Meal Plan (YCMP)

• Silver:
Cost: $460.00
Equivalent to spending $9.20 per meal

• Gold:
Cost: $905.00
Equivalent to spending $9.05 per meal

• Platinum:
Cost: $1800.00
Equivalent to spending $9.00 per meal
The YCMP plans are accommodating to students who need a more flexible meal plan than
the Residential Plans can satisfy. YCMP can be used at any of the dining commons as well as
any of the retail food outlets on campus; one YCMP credit is equal to one use at the dining
commons or one use at any of the retail food outlets. UMass gives each meal exchange (use
of YCMP credits at retail food outlets on campus) a value of $7.75, which means that every
time you use a credit as a meal exchange, you can purchase $7.75 worth of food.

Option 4: Buy all meals with cash

• Breakfast
Cost per meal = $7.00

• Lunch
Cost per meal = $10.00

• Dinner
Cost per meal = $11.50

Below is a chart that shows the total amounts of money a student will pay in a single
semester if they pay for each meal in cash, as well as the calculated average cost per meal
for certain meal combinations. For the rows including 2 meals, it is assumed that those
two meals are the only two meals eaten every day. It is also assumed that there are 14
weeks in the semester.

Meals Eaten Every Day Total Amount Spent at the Cost per Meal
Dining Commons over the
Semester
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (14*7)*($7+$10+$11.50) = $9.50
$2793
Breakfast, Lunch (14*7)*($7+$10) = $1666 $8.50
Breakfast, Dinner (14*7)*($7+$11.5) = $1813 $9.25
Lunch, Dinner (14*7)*($10+$11.5) = $2107 $10.75

**$7 is the cost for breakfast, $10 is the cost for lunch, and $11.50 for dinner, at the
dining commons

The conclusion that can be drawn from this is that it is the least economical decision to
purchase all meals at the dining commons with cash. Buying breakfast and lunch every
day for the entire semester is the only case where the total cost ends up being less that the
cheapest residential plan. However it would be more economical to pay the $1795.00 for
the value plan, which is only $129 more than buying every breakfast and lunch with cash.
To pay that extra $129 upfront would allow the student 37 additional meals, plus 9 meal
exchanges and 15 guest meals. Don’t pay with cash at the dining commons! Get a meal
 plan!

Analysis!

Comparing Options 1, 2, and 4:

A useful way to evaluate which option is best is by using breakeven analysis. This can be
helpful in analyzing these options because it can tell you the specific number of meals
that a student will have to purchase in order to “break even” with the total cost of a meal
plan. The following chart assumes that a student eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner every
day:

Meal Plan Calculated amount of meals a Conclusion that can be drawn

student must purchase with
cash in order to break even
with the total cost of the meal
plan. (Total cost of meal plan
divided by average cost/meal)
Value Plan 1795/9.50 = 189 meals
Unlimited Plan 2090/9.50 = 220 meals
**$9.50 is the average cost per meal if a student buys breakfast lunch and dinner every day.
Don’t pay with cash! Buy a
Residential Plan. The Value
Plan is more economical
offering 35 more meals, 9
additional meal exchanges,
and 15 additional guest meals
for the same amount of money
as purchasing each breakfast,
lunch, and dinner with cash.
Buy a Residential Plan. The
Value Plan is still more
economical, offering more
meals for $1795 than $2090-
worth of cash-bought meals.

Here is a graph that shows the same information. You can see that the “Pay with Cash”
line intersects or “breaks even” with the total costs of the Value Plan at 189 meals and the
Unlimited Plan at 220 meals.
When deciding between a Residential Plan and paying for all meals at the dining commons with
cash, it is always more economical to go with a Residential Plan!

Comparing Options 3 and 4:

Choosing a YCMP plan is a bit trickier than meets the eye, because if they are not used to
their full potential then money can be inevitably lost! Breakeven analysis is a useful tool
when considering the YCMP plans that allows us to compare YCMPs to paying for meals
with cash. Below is a chart that is aimed to provide some information that students may
want to consider when selecting a YCMP plan.

YCMP Plan # Meals a Conclusion for # Meals at the Conclusion for

student can buy Student who plans to Dining Student who wants
at Retail use all YCMP credit Commons if the to use all YCMP
Outlets if the at Retail Food total amount credit at the Dining
total amount Outlets on Campus they pay is the Commons
they pay is the cost of the plan.
cost of the plan.
YCMP 460/7.75 = 59 Do not buy Silver! 460/9.50 = 48.4 Buy Silver! If you
Silver Pay with cash! buy all meals with
YCMP Silver allows YCMP credit, you
50 meals for $460, will get one meal
but paying a total of for free at the
$460 in cash allows a dining commons!
student 59 meals at
retail outlets around
campus!
YCMP Gold 905/7.75 = 117 Do not buy Gold! 905/9.50 = 95.3 Buy Gold! If you
Pay with cash! buy all meals with
YCMP Gold allows YCMP credit, you
100 meals for $905, will get 4 meals for
but paying a total of free at the dining
$905 in cash allows a commons!
student 117 meals at
retail outlets around
campus!
YCMP 1800/7.75 = Do not buy Platinum! 1800/9.50 = Buy Platinum! If
Platinum 232 Pay with cash! 189.5 you buy all meals
YCMP Platinum with YCMP credit,
allows 200 meals at you will get 10
$1800, but paying a meals for free at the
total of $1800 in cash dining commons!
allows a student 232
meals at retail outlets
around campus!
**$7.75 is the cost of one meal at a retail outlet on campus (Pita Pit, Bluewall, the Hatch, etc.)
\

Here is a graph that represents the same breakeven points as the previous table. The chart
represents total cost vs. # meals purchased. The points where the cash lines cross the YCMP lines
are the breakeven points.

The caveat that students should be aware of when purchasing a YCMP is that every time a credit
is used at a meal exchange instead of the dining commons, money is essentially lost. However, if
a student wants to eat at the dining commons for a total of exactly 50, 100, or 200 meals, then the
YCMP plan is actually a great value, and the student ends up getting some meals for free!
Another upside of the YCMP plans is that they are very flexible and can be used at a very wide
variety of locations across campus. Students considering buying YCMPs should decide whether it
is more important to them to get the most bang for their buck, or to be able to use their YCMP
credits in more accessible locations around campus than the dining commons.

Ultimately, while the decision of choosing a meal plan for college students is determined by the
size of their wallets, the decision is also certainly made with consideration of personal
preferences! When deciding between a Residential Plan and paying for all meals at the dining
commons with cash, it is always more economical to choose a Residential Plan. Otherwise there
will be unnecessary spending. When deciding between YCMPs or paying for all meals at retail
outlets with cash, then it is more economical to purchase meals at retail outlets with cash. And if
deciding between YCMPs and paying for meals at the dining commons, then the YCMPs have a
greater value. The different options each come with different advantages and disadvantages. It is
important that students choose the option that best suits them! Good luck students!