The end of the school year at Pace reveals two types of students: those who have swipe money, and those who do not. The ones who do are usually the students who have had enough of Kessel and refuse to eat there anymore. The ones who don’t are left to plan their meals accordingly, or dish out the dough for more meal plan money.

If you are one of those people who still have money on their swipe as the end of the year rolls around, you probably already know that the money will carry over to next semester. Unless, of course, you’re a senior and you won’t be returning next semester, then where does your money go? Unfortunately, it doesn’t get returned to you in the form of cash, or get returned to your credit card.

The leftover money seems to just disappear into thin air. According to the Pace University website, “all meal plans roll over semester to semester/year to year as long as the student is registered and will be forfeited if not used up by graduation or transferring out of the university.”

But what does this mean exactly? It’s unknown if the money goes back into the school, or sits idly in the accounts of graduated students. I have heard different student accounts of Pace swipes working in Kessel after you’ve graduated if you still have money in your account. At a time when many students are starting their careers and have to begin paying back their student loan debts, wouldn’t it be helpful to have the money returned to the student? Hundreds–or thousands–of dollars could be sitting in your account, untouchable and going to waste when you need it most.

There should be a way to receive the leftover money from your account after you graduate. It’s not benefiting the school or the student if it continues to sit in your unused meal plan. Some students would put the money back into the school anyway, as a way to start paying back debt. Regardless of what they do with it, though, they should have the ability to collect what is leftover from their account. Especially because every full-time student is required by the university to purchase a meal plan, according to the official website.

Although I do not believe things will change in the near future, it would be something that Pace should at least consider to do for its students entering the real world.