Recently, one DBHS alumnus visited my class of seniors to answer some questions about college criteria, such as tuition costs and majors. It wasn’t long before I began to hear many student questions pertaining to an aspect I hadn’t seriously considered before: college food. Even worse, I found this to generally be one of the first things students discuss when looking at potential colleges.

What? College is somewhere we go to find new opportunities. From my perspective, those opportunities are what should be on every student’s mind when they think about the future. While food gives us comfort, knowledge and new locations give us much greater opportunities for new experience.

I realize that food is a basic need for survival.  It is a part of the whole “college experience” and gives students something to fall back on when they are stressed. However, worrying about food in college seems silly. It reminds me of people who look forward to theme parks because of the food (which is usually bad.) Yes, some people do that.

Eating, something that has to be done for nourishment, has become more important in some seniors’ minds than things like costs and academics. When I think of college, I worry about getting a job that will help me afford food, and not about the food itself.

I realize that most students do consider these things when thinking about which college they would like to attend, but I feel that students should be getting their priorities straight. I have faith in my fellow seniors, but I sincerely hope that food isn’t near the top of the list when they narrow down their choices. From my perspective, the most impactful criteria would be the price, the types of majors offered and the quality of the programs.

Rather than doing what every other human is doing—eating and breathing—students can look for opportunities that are unique for them. As they think about which college fits them, they should set goals on what activities to join and what subjects they would be interested in. Location is also an important aspect to think about, and it could also play a big role in what careers students will choose.

From going on campus tours over the summer, I learned that indeed, some colleges like Pomona College, UCLA, and Cornell have food that is very good compared to what is typically offered at colleges. However, for those of us who won’t be attending prestigious schools, the food will likely be no better than what is offered at the high school level.

We’ve all heard about the freshman fifteen, and we can accept it as something that can be inevitable with the stress of a new school and newfound freedom.

Where health and body consciousness is concerned, however, the freshman fifteen isn’t really something that I yearn for. And based on what’s on the minds of fellow seniors, most college freshmen aren’t really thinking about preventing it.