As I sit pleasantly in my kitchen, I can look around and see all of the various meal options I am able to make because I am not on the Boston College meal plan. After arriving on campus as a freshman and realizing that I had to pay $1 for an apple, which I can normally buy a pound of for about $1.49, that’s when I knew the meal plan here is absurd.

First of all, the food here is good, but not great. It’s definitely not worth the astronomical prices that students are charged. It would be a different story if the food was 5-star quality, but this is not the case. The only item that seems to attract any sort of excitement is Wednesday’s stir fry nights, which can easily be made at home in my own kitchen at a much cheaper price. White rice and sautéed vegetables? That would easily cost less than $5 to make. It seem as though going to the dining halls for every meal gets so repetitive that we just go through the motions; six o’clock rolls around and it’s time for dinner at Lower again. Yes, we have options, but they, too, get old. The food at Hillside is good, but one can only eat a sandwich with 1,000 calories so often. Sometimes we just need a good homecooked meal. Living off campus this year and having the wonderful ability to make my own meals and cook my own food, my friends that live on campus and have a mealplan love coming over and eating freshly cooked food like they would get at home. It’s a great change from the mundane mealplan life.

Another advantage of NOT being on the mealplan is the ability to actually know what’s in your food. MSG? Who knows if that or any other chemicals are added to the food since we can’t witness it being made. For those that choose the vegetarian or vegan option, cooking your own meals and buying your own food is much more satisfying than going to the dining hall and picking through the overpriced vegetarian and vegan coolers. The options at grocery stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are endless and surprisingly cheap.

Although it is convenient at times, I firmly believe it is one of the biggest shams on campus. After confronting a worker in Lower one day last year about the ridiculously high prices of food, he claimed it was only because people steal things too often and they have to make up for their losses. How can they even try to justify paying $4 for a bottle of SmartWater when they sell it in the grocery store frequently for $1? A $3 markup is absolutely ridiculous. Or even charging $1.79 for 20 oz. of soda? A Big Gulp (32 oz.) at 7Eleven costs $1.09. It seems as though Dining Services is all about supply and demand…

As a freshman, the meal plan seems like a good option for getting acquainted to living away from home for the first time and being on your own; just getting accustomed to college life is enough to worry about. After freshman year when you think you know all, you come to realize that the meal plan is, in fact, only there for convenience and the fact that you don’t have kitchens until junior year. It isn’t until you move off campus or live in an apartment on campus that you realize how great it is to cook your own food and choose what you want to eat with many more options than any dining hall can provide.