Dining at Ohio State: What’s the best bang for your Buck(ID)? (2024)

Incoming freshmen at Ohio State have a lot to look forward to — but with that excitement, comes a lot of uncertainty as well. One of the biggest mysteries first-years face when arriving on campus is not only where to eat, but how.

Students have three payment options when visiting on-campus dining facilities: visits, dining dollars and BuckID cash. The specific rules of each method vary slightly based upon the meal plan a student selects — Traditions, Gray 10 or Scarlet 14 — but the general rules remain the same.

Swipes or “Visits”

Students can swipe into the three Traditions Dining Halls with their BuckID for both to-go and self-service options. Each swipe counts as one visit, and students decide how to plan out their meals each week based on the amount their plan allows for. Traditions locations are in Scott House, Morrill Tower and Kennedy Commons, and each serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, closing for a few hours between each to set up for the next meal.

A single swipe is equal to $8, but that number decreases to $5 at most campus convenience stores, also known as C-Stores. Many students opt to use any extra swipes they may have on snacks, drinks and frozen meals at the end of each week as they do not roll over. Students can also use swipes at numerous non-Traditions locations such as Sloopy’s Diner or the Union Market if their meal is $8 or less. Every dining location offers to-go options, which involve placing an order via the Grubhub app. Students can upload their BuckID as the payment method in order to use swipes online.

Dining Dollars

Dining Dollars can be used at all dining locations including cafes, C-stores and coffee shops. While visits expire at the end of each week, Dining Dollars roll over each semester/year and never expire. In other words, the Dining Dollars downloaded freshman year are still available sophom*ore year if they are not all spent.

A 35 percent discount is given to students when they opt to use Dining Dollars rather than swipes at cafes and markets on campus. Students can also use them to enter any Traditions location if they run out of swipes.

There is a set amount of dining dollars added to a student’s BuckID when they purchase their meal plan – $150 for unlimited and $200 for both Gray 10 and Scarlet 14. However, money can be continuously added to the Dining Dollar account as long as there is an active meal plan available.

Many students opt to use Dining Dollars in combination with a swipe if their meal costs more than $8 at any of the non-traditional locations – a meal will never exceed $8 or the equivalent of one swipe at Scott, Morrill or Kennedy Commons.

Though freshmen are just starting out on campus, keep in mind that Dining Dollars — and BuckID cash — will roll over year to year and while students have a meal plan, they can always add more.

Once you no longer have a meal plan, adding Dining Dollars becomes more expensive than the $1 to $1 ratio, according to the dining services website.

BuckID Cash

BuckID cash is a lot like having a debit card, with the money downloaded onto your BuckID. The Gray 10 and Scarlet 14 plans automatically add $150, while the unlimited plan does not feature any initial BuckID cash.

All on-campus locations take BuckID cash and there is a set group of merchants off campus that also accept it. Students will know if a restaurant or store participates if their door or window features a small sign with a BuckID photo.

Additional money can be added at any time and rolls over each semester and year. New vendors were recently added to the BuckID family, making the number of restaurants that participate about 95. Popular options include Chipotle, Barrio Tacos and Raising Canes.

Dining Plans

There are three dining plan options for first- and second-years that live on campus: Traditions, Gray 10 and Scarlet 14. The cheapest option is Traditions, which is $2,172 per semester for incoming first-years. It features unlimited access to Traditions locations but offers little variety and flexibility.

Traditions does not include the option to use a visit exchange at any dining locations other than Traditions at Scott, Morrill or Kennedy Commons. In other words, if a student wants to dine somewhere other than the three main dining halls, they must use their $100 Dining Dollars. They can also use BuckID cash, but there is none initially added and it must be put in manually and separate from the unlimited plan.

The Gray 10 plan, which costs $2,226 per semester, and the Scarlet 14, which is $2,651, are named after the number of meal visits, or swipes, a student is allowed per week: 10 or 14, respectively.

These plans also offer a bit more flexibility than the unlimited plan, as they allow for visit exchanges to be used at any dining location, not just Traditions. Visits per week reset every Saturday at 3 a.m.

Students can make changes to their dining plan until the second Friday after classes start each semester. They can do so online or contact Student Life Housing and Residence Education at 614-292-8266.