15 Colleges With The Worst On-Campus Food Options

There are a lot of things to consider when choosing a college: major, extracurriculars, the campus culture, and most definitely cost. Most people don't really think about the food. And while the food quality shouldn't be the deciding factor when choosing a school, the quality and variety of food a college offers can impact health and overall well-being. We've already talked about college towns that are known for their food, but what about the colleges with less-than-stellar dining options?

Most colleges offer at least one dining hall, and many provide additional dining options. The quality of food and range of options can vary significantly from school to school. We researched polls, college websites, and social media to track how students feel about their campus dining options and based this list on real student and alumni reviews.

Ohio Wesleyan University is a small private Christian school in Delaware, Ohio. It's got some really beautiful spots on campus, but is otherwise unassuming. Niche gives it a B grade overall, but when it comes to the campus food, Niche gives it a D-.

Niche's grade is based on the cost of the dining plan as well as student reviews. The dining plans at OWU can run you anywhere from $6,000 to nearly $8,000 per year, depending on what plan you choose. So how bad can the reviews be? Student reviews allege that there are few healthy options and that foods were mislabeled for allergies and sensitivities.

The dining hall food seems to be the primary problem, and students recommend the Hamilton Williams (Ham-Will) Marketplace if you need to be on campus. One bonus about the food plan at OWU, though, is that you can use your dining dollars at certain nearby restaurants.

Historic Sarah Lawrence College is known for several things, including being a top liberal arts college and academic rigor, but it's definitely not winning any awards for its food. Despite being right outside New York City, a place known for hidden gem restaurants, reviews for the food scene are abysmal. 

Sarah Lawrence ranked fourth on the Princeton list, gets a D grade for campus food from Niche, and is rated 2.4 stars for campus food from Unigo. One reviewer on Niche says, "If you want food poisoning, this is the place to be," and another says, "The quality of the food is consistently poor." Those on Appily try to be more optimistic, with one saying, "The food is largely tasteless most of the time, but it is edible."

Students also mention frustrations with the lack of dining options, as there are only two food spots on campus: Bates Dining and the Barbara Walters Campus Center Dining Pavilion (Barb). One Redditor says that Barb tends to be safe, while Niche voters would recommend Bates if they had to choose. Meal plans at Sarah Lawrence run from $2,600 to $3,315 per semester and are required for on-campus students.

William and Mary is ranked as the 23rd top public school in the U.S. by both the U.S. News and World Report and Niche. Students who choose to attend this university in Williamsburg, Virginia, do so primarily for the academics, educational value, and diversity ... definitely not for the food. In fact, while Niche gives the school an overall rating of A+, the food here only gets a D+.

Students say "the food is criminal for the price tag of the school," and with a cost of a meal plan varying between $1,000 and $3,400 per semester, it's hard not to see their point. One reviewer on Unigo sums it up by simply saying, "The food is bad." Others are less harsh, with a reviewer on Appily saying, "I am not a fan," and one student on Reddit reporting that the food "is a bit sus looking sometimes but tbh not bad."

The good news is, it seems that William & Mary has heard student complaints. They recently switched campus food providers, and students say that the food is better than it used to be. The Commons Dining Hall is the most common option for meals, but there are several other dining areas on campus as well.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is another school known for academics. The U.S News and World Report puts it at number 70 on its list of top national universities, and Niche gives it an overall grade of A-. One thing that could be holding it back from reaching that A score is its campus food, which Niche gives a sad D+.

Several students on Niche call the food outright bad. Those on Unigo give the school 3.1 stars, with one student diplomatically saying, "The food is not always the best." One poster in the RPI subreddit even posted, "Are Commons and Sage competing over who has the worst meals?" with one commenter saying, "Commons doesn't have as much of a mouse infestation, as far as I've seen," and another chiming in with, "I graduated nearly 25 years ago, and everyone had the same complaints about the dining halls back then. Nice to know some things never change."

What makes this all the more offensive is the price of the dining plans, which range from $8,000 to $9,000 per year. The only upside is that they come with "flex dollars," which can be used at other on-campus locations, such as Jimmy John's and Panera Bread.

Ranking second on the Princeton Review list is Clarkson University, a small private school in Potsdam, New York. One major complaint seems to be that there just isn't a lot of variety, with one student on Appily mentioning that "if you eat on campus all of the time it can get boring."

Students tend to skirt around the food issue, with another reviewer on Appily saying, "Let's be honest, which school actually has great food?" On Unigo, where students gave the school 2.6 stars for food, a student simply says the food "isn't the best." Meanwhile, on Niche, which gave the school a C- for campus food, the highest-rated dining option is the on-campus Subway. The meal plan is also pricy, costing $4,139 per semester and required for all students living on campus.

One student on Appily did mention, however, that "Clarkson is currently updating all of the dining facilities." A few more recent reviews show that this update is working, as students seem happier with their options. A couple mention really enjoying the all-you-can-eat buffet in the Ross-Brooks (RoBro) Dining Hall.

Philadelphia is the birthplace of some world-famous foods, like the iconic Philly cheesesteak. Unfortunately, Saint Joseph's University's (SJU) campus food doesn't quite live up to the food in the surrounding city.

The Catholic school sits at number six on the Princeton Review list, and its campus food gets a C- from Niche and 2.7 stars from Unigo. On Appily, reviewers try to be nice, saying, "There are good days and bad days," for food, and "Sometimes when the dining hall tries something new, it doesn't always come out the best." A former student on Reddit is a little more blunt, saying the food "sucked." Another Redditor says the food is "actually terrible, anyone who hypes it up truly suffers from mental instability."

That being said, there are plenty of options for students at SJU, with nearly a dozen on-campus eateries and numerous nearby off-campus spots available as well. All residential first-year students are required to have an all-access dining plan, which runs between $3,000 and $3,300 per semester.

It's unclear whether the lackluster campus food at Catawba College is because it's such a small school or if it's something else. With less than 1,500 students, the college is located in Salisbury, North Carolina, and its campus food gets a C- from Niche and 2.5 stars on Unigo.

On Unigo, reviewers say that the food is one of the major downsides at Catawba, with one saying, "The food quality was very sub-par overall, regarding flavor and selection." The same sentiment is echoed on Niche, where reviewers say the food is "limited."

One reviewer on Appily did mention that the renovation done in 2022 made the food better, but there are still plenty of reviewers from after this date who are unhappy with the food choices at Catawba. If there's one benefit to dining at Catawba College, however, it's that students have several meal plan options to choose from.

Sitting on the Easton Bay in Newport, Rhode Island, Salve Regina University has a picturesque campus with less-than-stellar food options. The small Catholic school gets a C- in campus food from Niche, a rating of 2.6 stars for campus food on Unigo, and gets spot number nine on the Princeton Review list.

Students on both Appily and Unigo describe the food as not good. On Niche, one student says the food is inedible, while another calls it mediocre. Another unleashes a string of adjectives, calling the food "disgusting, undercooked, poisoned, not real meat, unseasoned." The options at Miley Hall seem to get the most hate, and one user says the late-night options available at The Nest are actually pretty decent. Reviewers on Niche recommend Jazzman's Cafe and Bakery the most.

Reviewers seem to appreciate the variety of options, and one mentions that there are several places off-campus that deliver. However, with how much a meal plan costs – $8,180 per year for freshmen – it can be frustrating to have to spend money to order in.

At Randolph-Macon College (RMC), a private Christian school in Ashland, Virginia, students find the food options to be distinctly lackluster. Niche gives the campus food a C-, with one reviewer on the site stating that the dining hall options are terrible. In fact, despite meal plans costing around $7,000 per year, they say they're more likely to just go into Richmond (home of the Sailor Sandwich!) for dinner.

Students on Unigo hype up local options as well. They give the campus food 2.3 stars, with one reviewer saying, "the food isn't horrible but it's meh," and another stating, "The food is somewhat iffy but it has its moments." Even a parent on Facebook says, "Food is very much less to be desired."

Several students also commented that while the food at the Estes Dining Hall isn't great, the variety it offers is a plus. On Niche, 25% of poll participants reported that the best food option on campus was "Well, the food at Estes isn't great but has variety," while 23% voted "none." Students also bemoan the lack of other options on campus, as there are only two other spots to eat: the Birdsong Cafe and Jacket Java.

Lycoming College is a small Christian school with a stately campus in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, lush foliage and colonial buildings don't make up for subpar campus food. Students on Unigo gave the school 2.6 stars for its on-campus dining, and Niche graded the school a C-.

One reviewer on Unigo says that the food "leaves much to be desired." Over on Niche, a student says the food at Lycoming is the same food they serve at the local prison (we were unable to confirm whether or not that's true). They continue on with, "Needless to say, it's awful and inedible at times which is odd considering you pay several thousand dollars for it a semester." Seeing as Lycoming charges between $3,500 and $4,000 per semester for a typical dining plan, we don't think that's an exaggeration.

If you must eat on campus, students on Niche voted Cafe 1812 the best option. However, off-campus may be your best bet if you can afford it, as several students say there are some great spots to eat nearby.

Students at McDaniel College don't hate the campus food, but they sure wish it were better. The private school is based in Westminster, Maryland, and has a C- for campus food on Niche and 2.8 stars on Unigo.

In general, students have the biggest issue with the food at the Englar Dining Hall (Glar). A student on Appily calls the cafeteria's food "mediocre," while a reviewer on Unigo goes a step further and calls it "sickening." A pescatarian student on Niche mentions they have a hard time finding foods that fit their dietary restrictions, although based on what other reviewers say, this may be a blessing in disguise.

Students say if you have to eat on campus, the Hilltop Pub is the way to go. For first-year students, their meal plans get them 75 to 100 swipes at the pub per semester, and these plans range between $3,500 and $3,850. Those who don't mind going outside their meal plan will find several off-campus options that are pretty good, including a pizza place that delivers to the dorms.

At Siena University (formerly Siena College), students can't seem to agree on whether or not the food is any good, which is probably why it gets a C- from Niche and a 3-star rating on Unigo for campus dining. More than one reviewer on Niche calls the food disgusting, with one elaborating that "there are numerous encounters with people finding plastic, bugs, etc in their food as well as food poisoning." A reviewer on the school's dining services Facebook page backs this up, saying, "Most of the food there is really bad ..."

That being said, there are a few reviews that aren't quite so scathing. A student on Niche says the food is mediocre, while one on Appily calls it "alright." Others on Appily have more positive things to say, with one saying "I've found the food to be good at a fair price," and another even calling it "very good."

One thing students do seem to agree on, though, is that the best food is found at Casey's. Located in the student union, the cafe serves foods like burgers, wraps, and even sushi. You can use your meal swipes here, which is good, since meal plans range from $3,600 to over $7,000 per year.

Grinnell College is listed as the best liberal arts college in Iowa by Niche. However, this distinction doesn't seem to extend to the culinary arts. Niche gives the school an A rating overall, but a dismal C- for campus food. Over at Unigo, students rate the food a 3.6 out of five stars.

No one seems to hate the food at Grinnell, but no one seems to love it either. One reviewer on Niche says the food is "lacking," while another on Appily says it's "alright." Many students say it's pretty typical college food, but there aren't a ton of options, and it's easy to get bored. Between the Marketplace Dining Hall and the Spencer Grill, students seem to generally prefer the grill. Students also point out that there aren't a lot of off-campus alternatives, so you'd better learn to love the campus food.

One thing that likely contributes to Grinnell's low grade from Niche is the price of the meal plans. Freshmen are required to choose the unlimited meal plan, which sets them back a whopping $9,236 per year. Other meal plans are available to returning students, which range between $3,800 and $8,500 per year.

Students at Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania can't seem to agree on the quality of the campus food either. On Niche, where the food gets a C grade, one student calls it "not that good." Another student on Appily says the food is "sub-par."

However, the majority of students seem to be of the opinion that while the food isn't terrible, it could definitely be better. On Unigo, where students rated the food 3.6 stars, one reviewer says this is especially true considering the price they pay; almost every meal plan is over $6,000 per year.

That being said, there are a few students, especially on Appily, who love the food at W&J. One says it's the best cafeteria food they've ever eaten (which seems concerning given the other reviews), and two more say it's "pretty good." Some also mention that, while they enjoy the food, they wish there were more options available.

Lawrence Technological University gets a C grade from Niche for campus food, but it's rated number one on the Princeton Review list and is rated 2.8 stars on Unigo. Located in Southfield, Michigan, a suburb of the home of Detroit-style pizza, students have complaints about the quality as well as the lack of options.

On Niche, reviewers say the food "sucks" and is horrible, while a reviewer on Unigo says it's "So disgusting it has literally caused many of my friends to have medical issues with digestion." On Appily, one reviewer calls it tolerable, and a student on Unigo agrees, saying it's "Tolerable but sub-par at best." Another reviewer on Appily mentions that options are limited and restricted. In addition to the Blue Devil Cafe (the main dining hall), there's Jet's Pizza and Einstein Bros Bagels on campus, the latter of which is by far the student favorite.

The reviewer also mentions that there are some great dining spots off campus that aren't too far away. Of course, those aren't covered under your meal plan, which ranges from $2,400 to $2,725 per semester.

How on earth could we figure out which schools, across the entire U.S., have the worst campus food? We looked to the students that attend them. We began with quantifiable data, including rankings from the Princeton Review, Niche, and Unigo. We supplemented those ranking systems with student reviews and comments from sites like Appily, Reddit, and Facebook to find out what students were saying outside these ratings and rankings.