Colleges with best and worst dining halls

[Anonymous]

VA Tech, we checked out the campus on a random day when my wife was looking at grad schools. Excellent even then.

Penn State I thought was good, and you have access to Creamery ice cream!

I went to Fordham, which was horrible, but the off campus food options (Little Italy) were excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe Niche and Princeton Review have covered this topic ad nauseum.

Because, after all, colleges should be chosen mostly on food hall quality (with some consideration for climbing walls and lazy rivers).

If your kid is an athlete, it matters a lot. Imagine paying for room and board, and then having to subsidize with more money so they can fill the tank. Quality and volume impact both athletic performance and academic learning. My older kids were not athletes but Mr. 14 is. Just started high school and our grocery bills have almost doubled. He is a combustion engine.

The question is valid, even if the answers are of no significance to you. I’ll be asking the same question three years from now.

[Anonymous]

Princeton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:George Washington has great food, actually.

Please don't confuse it with Georgetown.

W&M had the worst food of all the colleges we visited two years ago, but I've heard they overhauled their dining.

That must be new, because when I went there 20 years ago the food hall was truly pathetic.

Seriously, don't come on here with your opinions from 20 years ago. I just posted that W&M apparently improved its dining from two years ago!
GWU has done very nice renovations in its dorms and dining halls. It's got a great rec center, lots of new spaces.

NEW EXPERIENCES ONLY, please, or else mention how long ago your experience was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, those that run their own dining services tend to have better food. Those that contract dining services out to big corporate entities are not as good. Anecdotal observation, of course.

this is why I find Gladwell's evaluation so nuts. Bowdoin grows much of their own food, and they spend money on it, but mostly in the form of work-study back into students hands. vassar contracts it all out.

I never totally understood his argument. Bowdoin spends more on and gives out better financial aid than Vassar. Vassar is just a poorer college, not Bowdoin's fault.

Vassar is so run-down these days. It's unfortunate.

[Anonymous]

Penn has made lots of upgrades. DC'26 lives in Gutman house where they have the new Quaker Kitchen with amazing menus. In addition the food offerings under Houston Hall(the nation's oldest student union) got a makeover, and of course Pret a Manger right on campus and on campus dollars is a hit.

It has gotten better and better each year!

[Anonymous]

Gettysburg College had good food when we visited.
My niece said High Point was good as well.
Many schools with a hospitality program like UMass or Cornell tend to have good food.

Want an awesome dining experience? Go to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America). Deeeeelish!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Umass Amherst. Seriously.

I would be happy to at there anytime!

[Anonymous]

Yale is generally considered the best in the Ivy League, if not the T100.

[Anonymous]

Everyone raves about Bryn Mawr dining

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, those that run their own dining services tend to have better food. Those that contract dining services out to big corporate entities are not as good. Anecdotal observation, of course.

this is why I find Gladwell's evaluation so nuts. Bowdoin grows much of their own food, and they spend money on it, but mostly in the form of work-study back into students hands. vassar contracts it all out.

I never totally understood his argument. Bowdoin spends more on and gives out better financial aid than Vassar. Vassar is just a poorer college, not Bowdoin's fault.

Vassar is so run-down these days. It's unfortunate.

Vassar is beautiful. And has a 1.3 billion dollar emdowment? Poor? Rundown?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe Niche and Princeton Review have covered this topic ad nauseum.

Because, after all, colleges should be chosen mostly on food hall quality (with some consideration for climbing walls and lazy rivers).

If your kid is an athlete, it matters a lot. Imagine paying for room and board, and then having to subsidize with more money so they can fill the tank. Quality and volume impact both athletic performance and academic learning. My older kids were not athletes but Mr. 14 is. Just started high school and our grocery bills have almost doubled. He is a combustion engine.

The question is valid, even if the answers are of no significance to you. I’ll be asking the same question three years from now.

Pro tip: Find out where the athletes (football, basketball) get to eat on campus (which meal plan cafeteria). The peons may get better food because of it. Worked at my campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon was bad
Swarthmore was outstanding

Based on visits last year.

Kenyon was worse than my kids hs cafeteria.

Dickinson also is pretty dismal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone raves about Bryn Mawr dining

Who raves about it? We visited and it was our top reason for taking the school off the list. Cafeteria is dark and dank with brutalist architecture (who thought that cement walls would enhance the dining experience?). Pasta had watery sauce. All the kids sat and ate by themselves. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA was the worst of the bunch that we toured.

When I was in school there, I remember seeing these crates on the loading dock of the cafeteria that had "fit for human consumption" printed on the side.