This post is dedicated to 2021s who aren’t sure if they can survive in a cook-for-yourself community. It could be helpful for parents as well.
First, an important note: you are required to purchase a meal plan if you live in a dorm with a dining hall. I strongly believe that you shouldn't pick a dorm based on the presence or absence of dining (unless cost is an important factor, in which case a meal plan is not advisable, see appendix). At MIT, where every dorm is different because of its culture, convenience should not be in the top 5 reasons for choosing a living space.
Another Important note: this is not a post advocating for certain dorms. Any undergraduate can get a meal plan regardless of where they live.
Why You Should Not Get a Meal Plan
A bit about me: I cannot cook. I had a meal plan during the first semester of freshman year. This post is based on personal experience.
A freshman plan includes either 19 or 14 meals a week, and missed dining opportunities do not transfer to later dates. Meals are all-you-can-eat once you enter the dining hall.
I have many regrets about getting a meal plan. That first semester, I lost too many opportunities to bond with friends and neighbors. Cook-for-yourself communities allow students to bond and foster food-related traditions. They also incentivize exploring the Greater Boston cuisine. A meal plan gives no leeway for off-campus experiences.
To be fair, for people who eat large meals, a meal plan might be a great deal. For me, it wasn’t. Every dinner, I would gorge on stir-fry and Danish pastries and feel way more than full. Dieticians suggest consuming multiple small meals throughout the day; I got most of my calories in two giant portions before 10am and after 6pm. For the time in between (since lunch was not included), I took a small dessert, bagel, or fruit with me and try to go to grocery stores as rarely as possible. By the end of the semester, after long nights of work, I couldn't wake up for the 8-11am breakfasts and had no food in the mornings. When Thanksgiving came, and the dining halls closed, I was completely unprepared.
My eating habits and digestive health improved significantly once I quit the meal plan, and I saved a ton of money. The cost comparison table in the appendix below shows that freshmen who feed themselves save, on average, $1680-3080 per year. If you eat common breakfast foods (e.g. cereal, yogurt, or bagels) and light lunches, you can eat out every day and still stay under the $100/week budget (compared to $158 for just 14 meals)!
Read Joel's '18 similar critique of his freshman year meal plan experience here (not adjusted for inflation).
How to Feed Yourself (for All Skill Levels)
LEVEL 1: If you already love to cook...
Living in a cook-for-yourself community will be easy! The dorms’ kitchens normally have communal cooking appliances and utensils. My floor, for example, has a blender, several rice cookers, plates, cutlery, baking sheets, pans, and basic grocery necessities such as olive/canola oil, salt, spices, etc. There are two microwaves and three ovens, as well as a fridge for each class year. Don't rush to buy extra kitchen stuff until you settle in your dorm and floor, though, as every community owns different items. To minimize money on the food itself, Level 1 residents usually cook large portions to last several days. They can easily spend only $50/week on food.
LEVEL 2: If you can sort of cook...
The easiest option is cooking co-ops. You can start or join a cooking co-op in your dorm—you’ll only have to cook once every week or two, and can arrange to cook with another resident. There are existing cooking co-ops for a variety of diets (e.g. vegan).
LEVEL 3: If you can cook salads and use an oven...
Find people to join you on grocery shopping trips. The closest stores are Starmarket, a small Target, and H-mart (an Asian grocery store) in Central Square, which is a 5-25-minute walk from cook-for-yourself dorms (or a 5-minute subway ride from East Campus). There are also free MIT shuttles every weekend to Costco, a large Target, Star Market, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods (and you can borrow a free MIT Costco card!). If you don’t want to wait until the weekend, get an MBTA pass and use public transportation to reach your favorite store. MIT students can purchase monthly MBTA passes at a 50% discount. Also use the unlimited MBTA trips to get fruits and vegetables at Haymarket, an impressively cheap outdoor weekend market downtown.
LEVEL 3 (Bonus): What I Do...
I fall into the third tier and still save a ton of money compared to the meal plan. My friend and I buy the bulk of our lunch/dinner foods at Trader Joe’s once every two weeks or so, and eat out a couple of times a week. TJ’s can be more expensive compared to conventional supermarkets like Costco or Star Market, but its large selection of healthy frozen meal options makes it incredibly convenient. The frozen meals are easy to make in a microwave, pan, or oven. They can stay “fresh” longer so we don't have to plan meals to ensure that perishable products are used in time. Between Trader Joe’s trips, I take the subway to Central Square to get milk and cereal from CVS, Walgreens, or Target. For dry or canned foods such as rice, pasta, or beef chili, I use Amazon Prime Pantry (Amazon is half off for college students).
LEVEL 4: If you can't cook and have no money...
MIT hosts many educational events, which usually offer food. Theoretically, you could get a free dinner every day and learn something new from, say, Noam Chomsky. Some student groups also feed members. If you aren’t in a group and don’t have time for events, add your Kerberos to the free-food mailing list. And make sure to participate in food-related traditions at your living group. For example, our hall's GRT (Graduate Resident Tutor) makes waffles every Monday, and, during finals week, we have Finals Feeds, with daily breakfasts and dinners cooked by residents.
BONUS: Read about feeding options from Joel G. '18 here, and about farmers' markets from Selam G. '18 here. Check out some simple recipes for freshmen from Lydia K. '14, MEng '16 here and here. Browse MIT Admissions for relevant entries by other bloggers.
Appendix
Meal Plan vs. Cook-for-Yourself in Numbers
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