Going to college can mean making lots of adjustments, but eating in a dining hall can be among the least-daunting.
What’s not to love about having such a wide variety of savory dishes and sweet treats to choose from? With a simple swipe of your student ID, you’ll enter into a world of all kinds of satisfying tastes.
However, Niche says that there are certain colleges that rise above the rest.
The ranking and review website has unveiled a list of the best college food in America for 2021 and two schools in the Peach State made the cut.
“The 2021 Best College Food ranking is based on meal plan costs and student reviews,” Niche explained. “Top-ranked colleges offer outstanding on-campus dining—students can easily access healthy, quality food across a wide range of cuisines and dietary preferences.”
Niche used data from the Department of Education to gather the average meal plan cost reported by each college. It also used self-reported information from Niche users to survey student opinions about the quality of the campus food at the college they go to or recently attended. The latter had an 85% weight while the former had a 15% weight in the final ranking.
In the top 25, are two universities that are among the largest in the state: the University of Georgia and Kennesaw State University.
UGA made it to No. 12 on the list. The school, which offers a meal plan scholarship, has an A+ in campus food.
The university has a variety of meal plan options to choose from, including a set of all-access meal plans that on-campus and off-campus students can enjoy. The seven-day all-access plan for the 2020-2021 academic year is $4,036 per year and students pay $2,018 per semester.
“In my opinion, I have to say UGA has one of the best dining options compared to other schools. Although it is pricy, you are able to get your money’s worth,” a college freshman wrote of the food in a Niche review.
Coming in at No. 22 is KSU. The school, which once ranked 5th nationally on BestColleges.com’s list of the best dining halls, also had earned an A+ in campus food from Niche.
Kennesaw State offers several meal plans to choose from, including those for commuters and upper- and underclassmen. There are also meal plans for faculty and staff.
The default option offered under the residential meal plan for underclassmen is an Access 165 plan. This includes 165 dining hall entries and $405 Dining Dollars, a balance loaded onto the student ID. It totals to a reduced rate of $1,710 as part of room and board for the fall and spring semesters.
“Our Commons food has won many awards and is on the top 20 list for college dining halls in food quality,” a college freshman said in a Niche review.
Both UGA and KSU also offer takeout options.
