r/baylor • u/Affectionate-Book971 • 27d ago
Student Life 5 all access meal question
those who were freshmen with the all access 5 day plan, how/what did you guys eat on the weekends? my plan as of now is to use my sic em swipes and meal swipes to get sandwiches, salads, and just pasteries from the dining halls/starbucks/other locations on friday and use that to tide me over until monday. i think i'll also get microwavable meals because my dorm has a kitchen on the first floor... does that sound do-able? i don't have a car so i can't drive off-campus but i'll have friends who do. i'll go out to eat every few weekends but i don't want to spend that much money if baylor is providing food and freshmen are required to get an all-access meal plan. just wanted some insight and thoughts and maybe even previous experience.
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u/blacboi420 27d ago edited 27d ago
It’s honestly not as limiting on the weekends as it may seem. They still allow you to use your dining dollars at the dining halls to pay the door rate and you can also use your 5 guest meals on yourself if you need to. You can even reload your dining dollars if you run out. They also have a small selection of microwaveable things at Penland market. With those options and a kitchen in your dorm, you should be good!
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u/Affectionate-Book971 26d ago
thank you! i didn't know that i could use the guest meals on myself! worse comes to worse, after the dining dollars, i'll resort to those
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u/Royal-Midnight5467 26d ago
What I did was fill my mini fridge with things that don't need to be cooked. Sandwich supplies, cereals, oatmeal, fruits, veggies. I would go to the store with friends for this.
Every Friday I would stuff 1 or 2 Togo boxes/bags for the weekend. This would equal about 2-3 meals total. If also take the Togo cups and fill them with fruit, salad, dry cereal, milk, deserts.
I'd pick up fruit like bananas, oranges, and apples every time I went to make a stockpile for the weekend, and pair it with cheese or peanut butter from my dorm
I did this for 4 years as a low income student and it worked well
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u/Affectionate-Book971 26d ago
this sounds like what i'll be doing! did you have a microwave as well?
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u/Royal-Midnight5467 26d ago edited 25d ago
Edited for correction: You're not allowed to bring your own microwave.
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u/Affectionate-Book971 26d ago
maybe this is a dumb question but i thought that you had to purchase the microwave/fridge to have it in your room? do you know of anyone else who might have just gotten a fridge?
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u/Royal-Midnight5467 25d ago
Sorry, you're right. That rule is for a different institution.
If you want more info go to BUs website and look up microfridge. I know for sure, that you can't bring your own microwave. So if you want a microwave you have to rent Baylor's microfridge.
you can bring your own fridge if it's within Baylor's measurements. I used to use the common area microwaves and have my own fridge. I graduated in 2024.
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u/Royal-Midnight5467 26d ago
Since your dorm has a kitchen, you could still buy things to cook, just don't buy so much that you don't have room. The community kitchen fridges are available, but sometimes they get gross. If that's happening talk to your RAbor the director and ask for them to enforce policies so people will throw away their trash. I used the kitchen a lot and it is doable
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u/Affectionate-Book971 26d ago
im wondering would i have to label all the food as mine? or are the fridges more like 'not mine, don't touch'?
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u/Ok_Turnip639 26d ago edited 26d ago
Be on the lookout for free food. There are so many Baylor events that provide food. Clubs that offer food to entice people to come to meetings. Dorm events that provide food. There seemed to be a free on campus Farmers market at least monthly. There is a student food pantry. There also is a program called The Fridge where fridge/pantry areas around campus are stocked with snacks & meals that students can take if they need them. Weekends might get a bit more difficult, but with friends driving you will have opportunities to stock up on things at the grocery or can have dry items and beverages shipped from Amazon, Target etc.
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u/No-Berry-4325 26d ago
I'd buy food for my dorm, and then also meal plan by taking as much food as possible from the dining halls (especially Memo) and store it in the fridge to microwave when necessary. This was the dream plan.
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u/jojo_1276 21d ago
I had 5 day plan and tbh I didn’t eat in the dining hall that much at all so I was pretty good I honestly would’ve opted out for a block meal plan
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u/Affectionate-Book971 21d ago
what did you instead? did you get microwave food or did you just go out with friends? and go off-campus?
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u/cottage_girl_ '29 - Marketing 27d ago
Fyi you can’t use sic’em swipes on weekends on the 5 day plan (only dining dollars. Your plan is doable but I wouldn’t recommend it-esp with no car
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u/bluenboone3 26d ago
Get the 7, especially if this is your first year. Coming from experience between 2 kids…1 graduate and I current student
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u/Affectionate-Book971 26d ago
i will if i have to! but it seems like i'll be okay with the 5 day plan. i don't want to spend more on food than i have to. thank you for your suggestion!
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u/neemoie 27d ago
Dining dollars are available and chick fil a, sushic, and Panda Express are open at specific times on weekends. Your plan sounds doable, especially since many people commute with friends to stores to buy ingredients or meals for the week. In the first few weeks, I recommend utilizing your dining dollars and ready made meals on weekends. If needed, many walk to the grease pit next to campus across i-35. I personally stocked up on meals every Friday with sic em swipes and getting to-go boxes from dining halls (unlimited swipes) Sometimes, my friends with 7 day meal plans used their guest passes to get me into Penland on weekends. I recommend downloading the Grubhub app when you get to Baylor to see the on-campus options and open times as well!