Now I’m Hungry.
For my first blog I will address an issue that is near and dear to all of our hearts. It influences our lives day-in and day-out. We get questions about it here in the Admissions Office all the time. You may pretend that it doesn’t influence your choice of institution of higher learning, but it really is always in the back of our minds (or stomachs), weighing in at least a little bit.
When we get asked “how is the food here?”, it may seem like a standard ‘get-to-know-the-school’ inquiry. But looking into the face of a prospective student as they wait for a response is like looking into their mind and realizing they’re thinking “……No, really…… How is the food? I need to know if I’m going to starve, if I’m going to spend all my money on delivery, if I should work more hours to pay for this, if I’m going to gain 20 pounds first semester, if I should start working out more now in anticipation, if I should head to GNC to pick up some vitamins to supplement my diet. You better have the right answer or I’m taking my business elsewhere, friend!” This is, rightfully, a need-to-know subject.
In order to help write this entry, I conducted an informal survey (my marketing professors would be so proud). I asked other students what their favorite meal on campus was. While my opinion on the issue is clearly important, I realize that not everyone’s day is made 20 times better when they find out that Trim Dining Hall has make-your-own Stir Fry for dinner. I collected a good variety of responses. Answers ranged from the creative: making your own pizza bagels (I’m pretty sure you would have to utilize at least 4 different stations in Trim for this), to the excessive: taking advantage of when they serve breakfast foods at dinner by having french toast and hash browns, then moving on to pizza, followed by ice cream, to avoiding the question and taking it off campus: Pik Pow Fried Rice at Lemon Thai down the street.
Some of the highlights from my survey were, the frequency of how many people said Halloween Dinner at Trim (I agree this is a Do Not Miss), any of the sandwiches from Reynolds Campus, Lobster Bisque (“I swear they had it once!”), and when the Traveling Chef Series brought in an Australian and they served Kangaroo.
Even though I quickly became overwhelmed with a HUGE range of answers to my question, it just went to show how many options we really do have and how everyone’s taste buds can be satisfied. I won’t lie, as a senior, after four years things have gotten a little tiring. This has made me more excited to get creative (props to the pizza bagel idea) and to try more restaurants in the area: my current favorite is Not Your Average Joe’s – excellent bread, great food, not expensive for college budgets.
This idea came from one of my fellow interns here in Admissions: to shake things up, see long you can go without using your meal plan on campus. He is correct in noting that there are so many events that serve free food you may not have to break out your ONECard for quite awhile. Being at a business school, people always want opinions on their new business ideas – there is no lack of focus groups who will bribe you with food to just to hear what you think. Take advantage of this.
I will leave you with the link to the Babson Dining Services website: http://www.babsondining.com/index.html. Feel free to explore and write back with what you think I should have for dinner later; I’m now on a survey kick.