Limited Time but Unlimited Meal Swipes
Before classes actually start, it can be fun to look over your schedule. Envisioning how your day unfolds can be both super exciting and comforting. Going into school, I thought my class schedule would be perfect. It was essentially a cycle of waking up after 9 am, going to two classes, and having all this free time, which was non-existent in high school. This anticipated reality shortly became a fantasy when I saw that most of my class section times were full! Noon apparently is not the most ideal time to pick classes. Anyways, I got stuck with probably the funkiest schedule ever.
Monday- No classes. But how right?
Tuesday- 4 classes from 8:30 to 2:45. Ooooh now this makes sense doesn’t it?
Wednesday- 6:30 PM class
Thursday- 4 classes and a 2.5 hour lab at night. Thursdays are going to be the new Mondays
Friday- One class that ends at 9:20 AM, which means 4 day weekend!
As you can see, my schedule through the week alternates from one extreme to another. However, this can be quite common depending on the type of classes you want to take, when they are offered, and if they become full or not.
Upon finalizing my schedule, the first thought that entered my mind was I am not going to eat lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I cringed at the idea of pushing through 6 hrs without a meal. Living off of cliff bars would not be suffice for a whole semester. Now, I am portraying my dilemma as more of a crisis, which it was to me at the time, but a simple swipe solved all my problems. This sounds cliche, but nothing can beat the unlimited meal plan. The vast majority of freshman at Tufts have unlimited meal plan meaning you could eat at the dining halls an UNLIMITED amount of times. Need a snack? Go to the dining hall. Need fruit before a workout? Go to the dining hall. Need some soft serve to beat the heat the first few weeks of school? Go to the dining hall. Late to your 8 AM? Grab a fruit, bagel or even a morning pastry at the dining hall .Need to do crank out some work? Go to the dining hall (Carm is more conducive to working). Need a private place to talk to someone? Dining halls are a great option anytime except between 9:30-10:30 AM, 12-1:15, and 6:30-8. Just try to avoid the primary meal times. Essentially, the unlimited meal plan at Tufts is an incredible luxury that some other schools do not offer, so take advantage of it! Once you get on campus, you will become more familiar with the two dining halls: Carm and Dewick. The difference between the two cannot be summarized in a few sentences, so deciding between the two of them is for a separate blog post, but please utilize your unrestricted access to amazing food.