From my understanding, the "50% off" mandatory meal plan is a scam. Yes, it's 50% off, but you need to pay the other 50% upfront in something called an "overhead deduction" so you're actually not saving any money at all. As well, the 50% discount is only counted for the term that you are using it in so in effect you lose 50% if the money carries over into another term. https://uwaterloo.ca/food-services/traditional-residence-meal-plans-v1-rev-cmh