As a sophomore living on campus, I, like other students my year or below, was required to get a meal plan, regardless that I would be living in an apartment with a full kitchen. I purposely chose a living arrangement that would allow me to cook for myself as opposed to having to eat in the University Center all the time. For the past year that is exactly what I have done, only eating in the U.C. occasionally and getting snacks from the Bistro every so often. Even though I got the least expensive meal plan, with less than a month of school left, I have more than $800 on my card and with only $100 able to transfer over to next year, that is over a $700 loss to me. Why not allow all of it to roll over to next year?
Pacific University is no question a distinguished school. However, the cost of attending such an institution is a major financial drawback for many. I know that for me, without scholarships and financial aid, attending Pacific would not be a possibility. That being said, for me to lose that amount of money when my funds are already limited simply because of school policy, is unacceptable. The only reason I purchased a meal plan at all was because it was required for sophomores such as myself living on campus. That money I could use instead for textbooks next semester or for next year’s increased tuition.
I understand why the school requires freshman and sophomores to get meal plans considering many are living away from home for the first time, the majority only have access to a community kitchen and it also ensures that the school makes money from food services. While I realize that it is unlikely that the school will change this requirement, I feel that at the very least there should be consideration to allow all unused money on a student’s meal plan to transfer over to the following year instead of just $100. This way a student with left over money on their card still gets use out of it the following year and the school still receives the money in the end.
I hope you seriously consider what I have brought up and I thank you for taking the time to read what I have had to say.
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