Editor's note: This is the first installment in a five-part series examining Dartmouth Dining Services' structure, quality and history.
Dartmouth's meal system, the admissions office proudly proclaims, is unique among its peer schools.
A survey of the Ivy League's dining services confirmed that Dartmouth is indeed the only institution to rely exclusively on a declining balance, per-item system.
But there are surprises, too. While every other member of the Ivy League relies to some extent on meals-per-week plans, some allow students to purchase off-campus meals through the university and many don't require enrolled students to purchase meal plans at all.
The systems
Most Ivies require at least freshmen to purchase a full meal plan, but the number of meals per week vary between the schools.
While the "all-you-care-to-eat" plans are common across the Ivy League and haven't prompted much protest, some restrictions impede students from dining in the way they desire.
Yale, for instance, allows its students one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner per day, but does not allow a student to use two meals at once. Brown requires students to eat at fixed times, though missed meals may be made up during a late-night "snack period."
At Columbia, the main dining hall does not open until 10:30 a.m. And at many institutions, dining halls close too early on weekends to satisfy students' appetites.
Columbia perhaps has the most flexible meal system. Students can choose between a meal-per-week system, a Columbia Points option -- which can be used at non-buffet-style dining facilities -- and a "Dining Dollars" account similar to Dartmouth's DBA.
Another widespread complaint of the "all-you-can-eat" meal plan is that students are not allowed to take food out of the cafeteria, an inconvenience for those who want a quick bite.
Harvard offers bag lunches to go, but only on a limited basis. Molly Atlas, a Harvard first-year, said that students manage to take food out anyway, despite the college's rules against this.
In addition to a set number of meals per week, most Ivies include supplemental declining balance accounts that may be used at convenience stores similar to Dartmouth's Topside and a la carte dining facilities.
Participation
Unlike Dartmouth, not all Ivies require students to participate in the meal plan.
Harvard and Yale force only those students who live on campus to buy the university meals. And Brown obliges only freshmen to participate -- though three-fourths of the Providence, R.I. school's upperclassmen also choose to purchase a meal plan.
An exception to the general trend is Cornell, where no students are required to buy the official meal schedule. Even so, about 9,000 students take advantage of the dining services in a school of over 13,500 undergraduates.
Dining at Princeton is probably the most distinct among the Ivy League. Only freshmen and sophomores are required to participate in the meal plan.
After the first two years, a mere 12.5 percent of Princeton students purchase a meal plan, and move to a points system similar to Dartmouth's. The majority of upperclassmen join eating clubs, which are independent social organizations that contract their own caterers for members.
Prices
Eating at Dartmouth for a full year is generally less expensive than at other schools.
At Yale, which like Dartmouth and all the other Ivy institutions has roughly 30 weeks of classes a year, a 21 meals-per-week plan at Yale costs $3,740 per year.
Twenty meals per week, plus 100 points (equivalent to $1 each) costs $2,966 a year at Brown. And the "Traditional 20" plan at Cornell costs $1,853 a semester or $3,706 per year.
Columbia's 210 meals a semester (13.1 per week on average), plus $150 of Columbia Points, costs students $3,560 yearly. Princeton's 20 meal-per week plan, with an additional 50 dining points per term, racks up to $3,930 each year.
Penn's "Platinum" plan, 19 meals per week, is priced at $3,512 for a full academic year.
At Dartmouth, freshmen are required to purchase the standard meal plan of $800 per term, or $2,400 for three terms. However, upperclass students have a variety of options in the number of DBA dollars they wish to purchase.
A little creativity goes a long way
Some schools allow their meal plans to be used outside of the regular college dining halls.
Yale, for instance, allows its students to transfer their meal plans to its graduate schools, and also offers a "Flex" dollars option that may be used at off-campus restaurants.
Princeton similarly offers an off-campus points program that is separate from its dining plan. And Students at Columbia may choose to eat at Barnard College if they wish.
Yale also goes beyond normal menus to offer its students "Pan Geos," a program that rotates through the dining halls, giving students the option of ethnic dishes.
Edibility?
Dining services at all eight Ivy schools try to offer a variety of culinary options while maintaining a basic menu on a daily basis. And students at all eight Ivy League schools complain of repetition.
Nonetheless, no Ivies made the Princeton Review's "Is it Food?" list of worst campus dining.
That same ranking system rated Cornell and Dartmouth 11th and 12th in the country, respectively, in the "Best Food" category.
An official at Cornell dining services said the food there is ranked well because the "menus change to keep enticing students to come back."
Student opinion of food at the Ivies is generally good. Sarah Stonesifer, a freshman at Brown, noted that "the quality [of food] is fairly high."
Of the food at Columbia, however, one student said "nobody really loves it."
