We’ve all heard the stories about less-than-stellar campus food — those college concoctions of shepherd’s pie, tuna casserole, or Thursday-night meatloaf that have you ordering pizza four nights a week.
There are some schools, though, making an effort to redefine the college culinary experience, serving up great dining with a range of options, from homestyle comfort food to gourmet, custom-made meals.
Here are the 10 schools, according to the 120,000 students surveyed for the Princeton Review’s Best 366 Colleges of 2008, that offer the best campus food.
1. Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Va.)
| Tuition & Fees: |
$20,825 out-of-state,
$8,198 in-state |
| Room & Board: |
$5,476–$7,702 |
| Enrollment: |
27,572 (22,987 undergraduates) |
What the students are saying: “Everyone loves the food on campus.” There’s “plenty of variety, lots of dining halls, and all-around great food.”
2. Bowdoin College (Brunswick, Maine)
| Tuition & Fees: |
$38,190 |
| Room & Board: |
$10,380 |
| Enrollment: |
1,716 |
Besides serving up a top-notch campus dining experience, Bowdoin also knows how to do dorm living right, cracking the top 10 in the Princeton Review rankings for schools with the best dorms.
3. Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.)
| Tuition & Fees: |
$25,500 |
| Room & Board: |
$7,618 |
| Enrollment: |
2,900 (2,400 undergraduates) |
Wheaton chefs stay open to suggestions and are happy to cook up student requests. The cuisine may even run fancier that what you’re used to at home and can get outright epicurean: One of the most acclaimed entrées is boiled lobster tail with peppercorn-crusted steak.
4. Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, Pa.)
| Tuition & Fees: |
$36,540 |
| Room & Board: |
$11,520 |
| Enrollment: |
784 |
In addition to enjoying delicious meals, students at Bryn Mawr have access to a registered dietitian, who offers nutritional and wellness seminars.
Students are also fans of the dorm rooms, rating Bryn Mawr number five in the Best Campus Dorms category.
5. James Madison University (Harrisonburg, Va.)
| Tuition & Fees: |
$18,728 out-of-state,
$7,234 in-state |
| Room & Board: |
$7,172 |
| Enrollment: |
17,428 (16,089 undergraduates) |
What the students are saying: “You will never get bored of eating on campus.”
6. Colby College (Waterville, Maine)
| Tuition & Fees: |
$42,955 |
| Room & Board: |
$5,790 |
| Enrollment: |
1,867 |
What the students are saying: “Spectacular” includes custom-made omelets.
7. Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (Needham, Mass.)
| Tuition & Fees: |
$1,625 (all admitted undergraduates receive a four-year Olin Scholarship to cover the $35,000 tuition) |
| Room & Board: |
$12,400 |
| Enrollment: |
304 |
A small school where every admitted undergrad receives a four-year full-tuition scholarship and where the personalized attention extends from the classroom to the cafeteria, Olin also scores high with students on the quality of its on-campus housing: Olin came in at number six in the Top 10 Best Dorms list.
What the students are saying: The cafeteria staff “know us by name and know our tastes.”
8. St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minn.)
| Tuition & Fees: |
$34,300 |
| Room & Board: |
$7,900 |
| Enrollment: |
3,040 |
What the students are saying: “It’s like eating in an awesome restaurant every day.”
9. Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.)
| Tuition & Fees: |
$36,504 |
| Room & Board: |
$11,640 |
| Enrollment: |
19,639 (13,562 undergraduates) |
What the students are saying: “There’s something for everyone” — “Great salad bars, stir fry, sandwich bars, international meals, seafood, kosher.”
10. Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, Mo.)
| Tuition & Fees: |
$37,248 |
| Room & Board: |
$11,636 |
| Enrollment: |
13,588 (7,318 undergraduates) |
What the students are saying: “Mouthwatering,” “incredible,” and just plain “yummy food.”
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