I am one of those first-years who signed up for the 14-meal plan against the advice of every single person I met during Orientation. In my defense, my parents originally put me on the 21-meal plan because they were worried about me getting enough to eat, but I rebelled and negotiated down to 14.
At the time, I didn't know about the set meal prices at Usdan, or how the majority of the drinks at Einstein Bros Bagel's can't be put on a meal, or the joys of getting food at the Provisions on Demand Market.

I know for a fact that next semester I'm going on the 10 meals and points plan because it provides the flexibility the 14-meal plan lacks. When compared to the dining options available at other universities, it's clear the University's meal plans are in need of improvement.

Brandeis offers several different meal plans, ranging from 21 meals a week and no points, to 100 meals and $625 in dining points a semester. While students have their favorites, all the meal plans can be improved to best accommodate the needs of the study body.  

Other schools have made their meal plans more efficient and flexible.

Some schools have a single, campus wide plan that is included in the tuition. According to its dining services website, students at Middlebury College receive unlimited swipes per meal period so they can get dinner at one location and coffee and dessert somewhere else. There is also no strict limit on the amount that can be spent per meal. Students don't have to worry about how much they can eat within a given period or if they want seconds.

Other schools, like Carnegie Mellon University, allow students to design their own meal plan and price it, according to the school's dining website.

That way, students get the most control over what they eat and can make a plan that works for their lifestyle.

On the Stanford University dining services website, there are a variety of meal and dining dollar combinations, but all of them are priced the same so students don't have to choose a plan that doesn't suit their needs just because it is cheaper.

Given the flexibility provided by some of these meal plans, the University should look into these other dining options to perhaps use them as inspiration for improving on our on-campus options.
For example, at Northeastern University, students can trade leftover meals for dining points at the end of the week. This is something that Brandeis should look into because often I have a meal or two left over. It would be economical for students to be able to trade their extra meals in for  dining points.
The rate could be a set amount, like $6 worth of points for every traded meal.

That way first-years like me who made poor dining decisions can still get points and not waste time trying to find all the meal-approved items in the P.O.D Store just to use our remaining meals.
There can be more flexibility in dining hours as well. Often I'll have dinner with friends at 6:30 p.m., but by 11 p.m. I'm hungry again, but can't use another meal.  Other times, I've had dinner in Cambridge with friends from high school, and may want a snack late at night. I have to use a full meal, or my own money, to buy a treat.

Perhaps Brandeis could create a fourth meal period, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. so students can get a late-night snack.

Dartmouth College and Williams College, according to students and their dining websites,  both have this fourth meal option, which allows students to eat while they are cramming for classes or just hanging out with friends late at night.

Maybe I'm just bitter because I chose a meal plan that did not work for me my first semester, but the Brandeis meal plans can be easily improved to best fulfill the dining needs of its student body.
Most of my friends from high school are happy with their school's meal plan, while my friends at Brandeis are less than enchanted with how our system works.

Brandeis University should rework its negotiations with Aramark to improve our meal plans so we are able to eat without worrying about running out of dining points or if the item we want counts as a meal.