College marks not only the first experience away from home for many undergraduates but also their first time away from fully stocked pantries and three square homemade meals a day.

Many colleges require incoming freshman students or all students living in residence halls to purchase meal plans, a pre-paid account used to buy food at various locations on campus.

At some schools, these plans can cost up to about $2,700 a semester for 21 meals a week, including some spending money.

But do they give students their money's worth?

Each college has different rules and price options when it comes to meal plans, but most schools follow the same basic framework: a fixed cost per semester covers a certain number of meals per week as well as dining passes or spending money that can be used for food or other items at campus convenience stores or eateries.

Depending on the college, students may or may not be able to carry over their leftover meals or money to the next term. Some schools also allow students to change their plan preference in the course of the semester if they find they have too many or too few meals.

When it comes to choosing a meal plan, syndicated advice columnist Harlan Cohen, author of "The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run into in College," suggests starting big.

"If you're someone who's living on campus and you're a full-time student, it's a good idea to start with the suggested meal plan," he said. "It's better to have more meal options than not enough meal options."

It's also important to take into consideration where and when you will eat, Mr. Cohen said, and whether you will take advantage of all the eateries and grocery stores the school has to offer.

"Instead of looking at the plan in dollars -- which can be intimidating -- look at the breakdown of each individual meal and the value of not having to cook or buy your own groceries," he said.

At Robert Morris University, Neil Binstock, director of business operations, said, "That first semester helps you understand what kind of eater you are."

It can be tricky to figure out the most suitable plan.

At the University Park campus of Penn State, sophomore Sinead O'Connor said she had difficulty choosing from six levels to find the one that best fit her eating habits.

Last school year, she started with Level 4 in the fall and went down to Level 3 in the spring. But she had to keep adding amounts to the latterplan.

Even so, she stayed with Level 3 this fall. "I still think Level 3 isn't quite enough. I decided to stay with it because of financial reasons," she said.

Robert Morris junior Stacy Wellde this school year chose the university's Revere Plan, which costs $1,265 a semester, $730 a semester cheaper than the smallest plan required for first-semester freshmen.

"I'm not sure how much money I lost on the meal plan, but I definitely lost," said Ms. Wellde, who is required to have a meal plan. She said she could save money if she wasn't required to have a meal plan and could "just cook or go out to eat the whole semester."

There are many variations in meal plans on campuses.

At Robert Morris, they range from $465 a semester for the commuter plan, which doesn't charge the 7 percent sales tax, to the most expensive plan, the $2,680-a-semester Revolutionary Plan, designed to cover 21 meals per week plus provide some spending money.

The meal plan at Penn State's University Park campus comes in six levels, ranging from $1,735 to $2,180 per semester. Rather than a certain number of meals per week, it works like a debit account.

Each level also includes a certain amount of dining dollars that students can use at any of the five convenience stores on campus for products from groceries to beauty aides.

Lisa Wandel, director of residential dining at Penn State University, said meal plans are designed to help busy students.

"I am the biggest proponent of why you should have a meal plan on campus," she said. "My son [who is a junior at Penn State] doesn't bother with cooking or buying groceries."

Students with special diets should be certain their school's meal plan offers such items.

At Penn State, Ms. Wandel said, "We do offer kosher products in our convenience store and a halal line for Muslim students. There's a wonderful selection for vegans and vegetarians in the [Simmons] dining commons. We also offer gluten-free menus in our dining commons, and those menus supplement what we serve the other students."

Many schools tailor meal plans for commuters.

At Penn State, students living off campus can take advantage of campus dining facilities with the LionCash meal plan, a prepaid account accessed by a Penn State ID card, which gives a 10 percent discount.

No matter which plan students end up choosing, many soon worry that they will succumb to the dreaded Freshmen 15, the idea that students gain 15 pounds the first year at college.

But, Mr. Cohen said, the meal plan could help prevent weight gain, as most colleges offer a variety of healthy foods.

"You have access to all these foods. There's freshness and variety. The difference between college [food] today and college years ago is that the quality has really improved," he said.

Once you've chosen a meal plan that suits your needs, try to save money by not eating out, Mr. Cohen said.

But if you must, he said, "Never order out without a coupon ... There's a coupon for everything."

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