Every college student has a vice, be it daily Starbucks trips, stops at the convenience store for Ramen noodles or late night food runs. At Boston University, these habits, along with more practical, pressing needs, are addressed with the Terrier Card – the student identification card. Along with acting as electronic keys to the largest dorms on campus, Terrier Cards keep track of students’ meal plans, and dining and convenience point balances.
Even before coming to campus freshman year, students can choose from six dining plans, most of which are similar in price, but differ in the amount of meals and dining points they offer to students.
“All dining plans come with a combination of meals and dining points,” Dining Services Marketing Director Michelle Vitagliano said in an email. “Dining points add an element of flexibility as they can be used outside of the residence dining rooms.”
Each dining plan comes with a set dining point balance, ranging from $125 to $495 each semester, according to the Dining Services website. The number of meals provided in university dining halls per semester decreases as the amount of dining points available on the plan increases.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Alicia Hook said she chose the Unlimited dining plan her freshman year, meaning she could have as many meals in the dining hall as she wanted each day.
“[I’m keeping the] same plan as last year because I can eat as many times a day as I want,” she said. “I can even swipe in for just a drink or some fruit. I usually use dining points at Starbucks . . . the best feature of dining points is that you can use them at Starbucks.”
Students can also use dining points at any of the dining locations in the George Sherman Union food court, at the School of Management’s Starbucks and Breadwinners, at Healthy Blends in the Fitness and Recreation Center and for Domino’s pizza delivery.
“If students run out of dining points, they should first decide whether the dining plan they are on is the correct one based on their eating pattern,” Vitagliano said. “Students can change their dining plan by stopping by the Terrier Card office in the lower level of the George Sherman Union building.”
College of Communication sophomore Sarah Steinberg said she chose the 330-meal dining plan for her first semester at BU but switched to the 14-Plus plan during second semester. On the 330 plan, Steinberg got 165 meals per semester, while the 14-Plus plan gave her 14 meals a week, which do not roll over from week to week when unused.
“I changed because I didn’t like the way the 330-plan was set up,” she said. “The 14-Plus plan is so much easier to keep track of.”
Steinberg said she regularly uses her dining points at Late Nite Café, a program in which every residence dining hall serves snacks, appetizers, ice cream and other foods at night. Although meals cannot be used at Late Nite, students can use dining points and convenience points to pay for food.
“With dining points, you get a way to spend your money on other things besides dining hall food,” she said. “It’s a nice change from burritos. Sometimes things are overpriced . . . depending on what meal plan you have, you don’t get enough dining points and then you have to sort of ration them.”
Students also have the option of purchasing convenience points, which can be used like cash at many on-campus retail locations. According to the Dining Services website, each student assigned to on-campus housing has a convenience points plan. All freshmen and transfer students receive an account with a $20 balance at the beginning of the academic year.
According to the website, students and parents can purchase convenience points by check, online credit card purchase or by charging to their student account. Students may charge up to $1,500 in convenience points to their student account each semester during the academic year.
“Unlike dining points, convenience points can be used at many other on-campus services, like Barnes and Noble at Boston University, Campus and City convenience stores, Buick Street Market and Café, most vending and laundry machines, Agganis Arena, University Computers and athletic concessions,” Vitagliano said.
Convenience points are often used at City and Campus convenience stores – referred to as “CampCo” by many BU students – to purchase snacks, toiletries and other college staples.
“I use convenience points at CampCo at like 1 a.m. to buy pretzels and something caffeinated and, of course, at Starbucks when I run out of dining points,” Hook said.
Campus and City convenience stores are part of the 660 Corporation, a for-profit subsidiary of BU, according to the business’s website. Director of Operations Chris Christensen said about one third of the customers at the stores’ BU locations use convenience points to pay for their purchases.
“Convenience points are separate from the meal plan,” he said. “Those give students the chance to buy things other than when they’re having a meal . . . It’s a way to meet those needs and for parents to meet those needs.”
Vitagliano said many BU students use dining points and convenience points on campus.
“Approximately two-thirds of all the transactions at the Union Court are paid for with dining or convenience points,” she said. “In general, the most popular locations in the GSU food court seem to be Starbucks, Loose Leafs and Caprito [Burrito], though I think the new Panda Express is going to be extremely popular this year as the first Chinese concept we’ve ever had on campus.”
Vitagliano said the Terrier Card is a must for many on-campus transactions.
“The Terrier Card reminds me of the American Express Card – you don’t leave home without it,” she said. “It gets you in and out of the residence halls, you can use it on campus to pay for food, drinks, books [and] laundry machines, and you don’t have to worry about carrying cash.”