SO. MUCH. FOOD.

Coming to Mizzou, you will (probably) be overwhelmed with how many options there are for dining.  All of the residential locations are primarily there for students who are living on campus and have a meal plan. You should check all of those places out as a freshman, because they are dangerously expensive out-of-pocket. Non-residentail locations are normally in highly populated areas of campus that are frequented by visitors and older students. These locations accept cash, credit and EZ charge (optional "debit" account on your student ID) and are more moderately priced. The dining website will give you all of the information you need about daily menus, hours, and nutritional facts.  I'll give a small rundown of all the places that I have eaten on campus this year, and let you know about some of your options downtown for when you're tired of campus food.

Resdiential (Meal Plan)
Rollins (buffet style) - this is located in Rollins commons and is connected to Hudson and Gillett residence halls.  They have pizza, salad bar, deli, grill, and more homestyle entrees during meal time.  The deli here isn't that great, it's basically lunchmeat and bread that you put together yourself.  The grill is really great, but it isn't open flame so the grilled chicken here always tastes rubbery (don't get it!).  The entrees are generally really delicious.  If you like chicken pot pie, you'll like their chicken pot pie. Nothing is really weird tasting or eccentric here.
Plaza 900 (buffet style) - located fairly centrally.  They have deli, salad bar, grill, on stage (they cook in front of you) and entrees.  The deli here is delicious! It's sort of subway style where they make the sandwich in front of you and can toast it if you like.  The grill isn't anything special and most of the time the food has already been sitting there a while.  The entrees available at the station aren't as good as Rollins, but it depends on what is offered that day. On stage is delicious, but slow.  They usually have pasta or stir-fry, which are really popular, but they also run out of ingrediants a lot because of the popularity.
Dobbs - located by Laws, Lathrop and Jones residence halls.  They have a great grill here.  It's open-flame and everything tastes like a restaurant. They also have pasta and a deli available all of the time.  The entrees are really good here, too.  It's a bit of a walk but since it's close to the stadium, a lot of people come here on game days.
Emporium - grocery store type place.  They have pretty generic things that you can purchase with your meal plan and store in your dorm room like juice, milk, meals, cereal, etc.  This is a great place to come get rid of excess meals you might have or get some snacks for when you don't have time to go to a dining hall.
Sabai - located in Johnston residence hall. This is a "Southeast Asian" restaurant that has the same menu daily. Some things are very good, but others are not.  You should definitely talk to people and see what they think of it before you decide on an item.  I went here a lot last semester because it was in my dorm. Some items are very traditional Southeast Asian and don't taste much like what you would get at other Chinese restaurants.  It's a good place to go to because it isn't really that busy during lunch. Things to try: Sweet Chili Chicken or Rice Bowl.
Baja Grill - located in Bingham Commons by Schurz, College Ave, and Hatch residence halls.  This is a really delicious place to eat. Like Sabai, it has the same menu daily.  It's Mexican food like quesidillas, tacos, and nachos.  Sometimes things aren't cooked completely, which is a little bit of a setback, but it's generally pretty good.  This place is very busy around dinner time, but there isn't a line at all around 2-2:30. Things to try: Carne Asada, Grilled Caesar Salad, & Tropical Coolers

Non-Residential
Starbuck's - pretty self explainatory, but it's awesome that we have one on campus!
Infusion - sort of like starbucks, but they also have things like ice cream and shakes.
Kate & Emma's - Panera Bread type place. They have wraps and sandwiches.
Mort's - great burgers and waffle fries! try the buffalo chicken sandwich or the shack sauce
Wheatstone Bistro - another Panera type place
Subway - located in Mizzou Market in Pershing Commons!
There are more, but these are some of the more popular ones :)

Downtown - google any of their websites for more info!
Noodles & Company
Which wich? - sandwich shop
Ingrediant
Chipotle
The Heidleberg - kind of like Applebee's
Shakespeare's Pizza
Gumby's - cheap pizza, open late! Try the Clay-Fusion (half-pizza, half cheesy bread)
Subway
Flat Branch - delicious restaurant and if you're visiting with your parents, they're also a brewery with many unique drafts
Yogoluv - by the ounce frozen yogurt
Domino's pizza

In short, there is always somewhere to eat on campus and it's definitely worth your while to check out what downtown has to offer!

What the heck am I paying so much for?

So this question is probably one that pops up when you see how much tuition is at Mizzou.  Aside from awesome professors, the knowledge you recieve, and the beautiful campus that you call home for 4+ years, there are some pretty great things at Mizzou included in your tuition here.

First of all, my favorite of all of these great services is the Student Recreation Complex, affectionatly known as "The Rec."  Our rec center is really one of the best in the nation.  We have TONS of equipment that is free to use so long as you have a valid student ID. Click here to go to The Rec's website and see some awesome photos and get information on what is offered there.  For a discounted price, there is also a spa that does manicures, massages, etc and several classes like yoga and zumba that you can participate in.

The Student Success Center is also a great service to students. Their website will tell you about all of the services they give to students.  There are study sessions, tutoring sessions, and even a writing center that will help edit your reports for classes.  This center is vital in helping students of all grade levels have a successful academic career at Mizzou.

Ellis library is not only a traditonal library where you can check out books that interest you, it also has several databases that are available online through their website to MU students.  Some of the services offered at Ellis are reserving rooms for group projects, checking out overhead projectors, scanning systems and color printers.  While I'm on the subject of these things, first of all - they're all technically free.  There is a $35.00 printing quota available for MU students at the beginning of each year already paid for in your tuition. Black and white printouts will deduct 0.05 and color will deduct 0.15 from that quota.  I haven't gone over mine, but in the case that you do, all excess pages will be student charged to your account to be paid at the time of recieving a bill

STRIPES is an awesome service for MU students that is utilized probably the most on campus.  This is an awesome group of volunteers of drivers that pick up students on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights to give them a safe ride home. All cars have one male and one female volunteer in them to make the student being picked up feel as comfortable as possible and it's a confidential service.  Although many students use this service to get a ride home after going to a party or the bars downtown, it is not a requirement to be drinking that night.  Several people use this service that rode a bus to campus and stayed until later in the evening that just need a ride back to their off-campus apartment. They're always looking for volunteers so it's also a great way to get involved at Mizzou!

Some other recources that you may find helpful during your stay at Mizzou:
MU Women's Center - basement of the student center with activities and comfy chairs..you don't have to be a woman to hang out here!
MU LGBTQ - Another Safe Space to hang out without judgment. LGBTQ students and "allies" hang out here to meet new people and feel comfortable at Mizzou.
Student Unions - student center with many student offices, rentable study rooms, food court, bookstore, and comfy chairs to hang out in!
RSVP Center - Relationship & Sexual Violence Prevention Center
Asian Affairs Center - awesome resource for students coming from countries in Asia to meet people who are in the same situation
Craft Studio & Art Gallery - students can purchase a membership here to suit their crafting needs or simply join in on one of the many free "crafternoons" they put on throughout the year!


I hope that knowing about some of these services will be helpful to you in your future endeavors at Mizzou. Feel free to check out any of those links and explore the websites a little more!

Sydney

Hey, All!

Somehow I've forgotten about this little blog I've been doing and decided I needed to keep up!  I'm working on an entry about some of the things that are included in your tuition that not many students know about or choose to utilize.  No, these aren't hidden fees that the university uses to make more money (you can find those on your own ;) ), these are all things to help you succeed and are some of the many benefits of going to a large university.
Get excited about coming to Mizzou! It's almost your turn.