First Year FAQs

What is my Dining Plan?

Your Dining Plan is your key to eating in any Hospitality Services location on campus.

When Do I pick a Dining Plan?

Choosing a Dining Plan is easy. When you apply online for your Texas Tech housing, you choose your Dining Plan. If you have a question about which plan you should choose, click on the ABOUT DINING PLANS link on the housing application to find out which plan best suits your needs and dining habits. You also can raise or lower  your Dining Plan until the 12th day of classes each semester to make sure you have the best plan for you.

What plan should I get?

Since Dining Plans are more than a “Meal Plan” it really depends on your eating habits. Do you eat three times a day? Do you snack late at night? Are you not a breakfast person? Do you sleep in on the weekends or have a job off campus?

Dining Bucks are a flexible way for you to eat on campus. As a student, your schedule may not allow you to eat during traditional times, so Dining Bucks lets you eat what you want, when you want! You can eat early in the morning or late at night, often until 2 a.m. You could eat five times a day if you wanted. Also, with the variety of food and convenient choices that Hospitality Services provides on campus, you never have to leave when you get hungry.

Where is my Dining Plan?

Your Dining Plan is on your university ID card and each time you swipe your card for a food purchase in a Hospitality Services location, the amount deducts straight from your Dining Plan. Your university ID card also gets you into your residence hall, the Student REC Center and lots of other services and exciting things on campus.

 How do Dining Bucks work?

Dining Bucks offers you a convenient and valuable way to dine on campus. Dining Plans are similar to the debit card you carry and probably use almost everyday. Instead of managing a dollar balance, you have a Dining Bucks balance to buy food items in any Hospitality Services location on campus. Each time you purchase food with your dining plan, it deducts Dining Bucks from your balance right through your student university ID card.

 What if my plan isn't right for me?

Dining Bucks means having options! If you think you picked the wrong plan, you have until the 12th class day each semester to change your plan. This gives you time to get into your class routine and learn what locations are close to you when you are hungry. At the beginning of the semester, if you find that you have too many or not enough Dining Bucks, you can lower or raise your Dining Plan level. Plus, if you begin to run low on Dining Bucks you have the option of adding 15 percent to your balance once a semester.

 What if I run out of Dining Bucks?

If you begin to run low on Dining Bucks, you have the option of adding 15 percent to your balance once a semester. 

Do Dining Bucks rollover?

Dining Plan holders have the option to rollover their unused Dining Bucks and not waste them. Dining Bucks carry over from the Fall to the Spring semester but now instead of losing your unused Dining Bucks at the end of the Spring semester, you can now roll them to your next on-campus living contract. Rolling over a balance provides you with the opportunity of purchasing a lower Dining Plan to save money!

 Where can I eat?

The last thing you want to worry about is food and it’s easy for you to eat what you want, when you want! You can use your Dining Bucks at any Hospitality Services location on campus, and we offer an assortment of menu choices and restaurants to keep you satisfied. You will be able to get the most out of your university experience because you won’t have to leave campus when your stomach starts calling.

Your Dining Plan is accepted at all Hospitality Services Locations!

  • All-You-Care-to-Eat Venues                                                                                                                 
    • Horn/Knapp
    • Hulen/Clement
  • The Market at Stangel/Murdough
  • The Fresh Plate Food Emporium at Bledsoe/Gordon
  • The Union Plaza Food Court                                               

o        Chick-fil-A®

o        Steak Escape®

o        Sbarro® Pizza                                                     

o        Union Grill

o        Center Sweets

o        Zi

  • Sam’s Place Mini-market
    • Murray Hall
    • West
    • Sneed
    • Wall/Gates
    • Student Union
    • Poolside
    • Express (Law School & Engineering)
  • The Union Bistro                                       
  • Smart Choices                                                                                                     
  • Cold Corner                           
  • Just Greens                                               

 What if I can’t eat during a traditional meal time?

Hospitality Services provides seamless service by having different locations open at different times throughout the day. Most operations begin serving breakfast as early as 7 a.m. and most Sam’s Place mini-markets are open until 2 a.m. 

Still have a Dining Plan question?

E-mail us at: hospitality@ttu.edu