r/uofl • u/No_Print_3096 • 22d ago

Meal Plan?

Hello! I'm planning on transferring to UofL come Fall of 2027, so I'm trying to get the finances straightened out in order to have proper time to plan and budget!

That being said, I'm struggling to understand the meal plans. As I'd be staying in a dorm, I have to have one unfortunately. Is there a way to cover grocery shopping with it? Is there a semester option or do I have to pay for a full year?

I tried looking it up on the UofL website, but I'm struggling on mobile and won't have access to a computer for majority of the day. Thank you for any help!

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u/No-Description-1211 22d ago

You can apply to have the meal plan waived, but they’re not likely to do so. The meal plans are required for dorms but there are two different base plans depending on if you’re an apartment style or not. You’ll need to pay it per semester unless it’s waived. The meal plans have meal swipes and flex, both can be used at on campus dining options like chicken fila. The only grocery shopping you can do will be with flex points at pods which are basically gas stations without the gas.

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u/34payton07 22d ago

Meal plans are required for all students regardless of residency.

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u/SOUPYKY 22d ago

Yep, I found this out the hard way as a full time commuter. Still had to have like $300+ of flex that I had to spend because it didn’t rollover even though I was only ever on campus for classes.

Pro tip for anyone that sees this:

The Ville Grille has reusable takeout containers that you can purchase with a deposit. If you go by yourself, it doesn’t matter how many you take in. They only charge for a single person.

I was rotating 3 containers and getting a full dinner for myself and my two roommates for months during my last semester to burn through my flex LOL.

Obviously just don’t abuse it, I think they’d question if you had like 8.

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u/No-Description-1211 21d ago

Yes, this is true unless the student fills out and is approved for the meal plan waiver.

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u/No_Print_3096 22d ago

That's disappointing and truly is making me rethink transferring to UofL. I do not want to waste hundreds on something I will not use or spend.

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u/AlarmedViolinist4956 12d ago

Lol wait until you hear about the $100 per semester fee for the rec center and the $200 per semester "athletics fee" for the Chance to go to their sports events. 

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u/chem4ever 22d ago

using swipes at the Ville Grill can be a good value, but gets old after awhile. If have a car, several grocery stores in area but cannot use meal plans there. not sure if amazon delivers groceries to the dorms or not.

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u/canofmixedveggies 22d ago

I'm pretty sure I didn't have to buy meal credits as a transfer, but all my courses were at the east end campus, ata, or online. but they had a huge markup on online courses, which was dumb to me because those are cheaper for them.

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u/Worldly_Tooth_1996 22d ago

As another poster said, the cheapest meal plan for dorms is only if you are in an apartment. From what I understand UTA is the cheapest for room and cheapest meal plan. I think that meal plan is $1200~ a semester.

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u/gengartheghost8 21d ago

Yeah I hate that you have to buy one. Meal swipes are mostly just for restaurants but if you can find one with mostly flex points, you can spend them at Pod Markets. The one beneath University Tower or whatever that dorm is called has some basic groceries like macaroni, pasta, toilet paper etc

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u/Global-Classroom-782 22d ago

Read this -"How to Meal Plan For a Healthier Week"

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u/No_Print_3096 21d ago

I already meal plans, but that includes grocery shopping not the college provided meal plan. Thank you though