Coming from someone who has no idea how to cook and didn’t even turn on her stove all last year, the dining halls honestly save my life while I’m at college.

I buy the 75 swipe plan and go to a dining hall once a day, pretty much every day of the week. Most of the time I stay at one, but a couple of times a week I’ll switch it up. So, I’m going to let you know which dining halls are actually worth your time.

Starting off with a bang — and probably my most controversial take — Schilletter is not as bad as people make it out to be. I go to Schilletter the most out of the three, at least three to four times a week. It’s the most convenient location if you stay near the library, which I do, because you don’t have to walk all the way to another side of campus.

Besides The Dish at McAlister, commonly known as Core, Schilletter probably has the most seating available, but it still gets super crowded at certain times. If you go around 12:30 p.m., especially on Monday, Wednesday or Friday, good luck finding a seat. I’ve had to circle the building multiple times just to find one open chair. Schilletter definitely has the best dessert selection among all the dining halls, by a wide margin. There’s an entire table filled with different desserts every day: cookies, cakes, muffins, brownies, marshmallow squares, ice cream and more. The other dining halls just don’t compare.

However, if we’re ranking dining halls’ pizzas, I personally have to put Schilletter’s last. I tried it once in my freshman year and haven’t had it since.

Core has a little bit of everything. With a Starbucks, a Cane’s and the new Sully’s Steamers attached, it’s pretty obvious why students go there so much. Plus, with the dorms right above it, if you live there, don’t even bother going to another dining hall — you already have everything you need. Personally, I just don’t want to walk over there that often. I’ll usually go if I’m done with classes for the day or don’t have anywhere else to be for a while. That being said, avoid the early afternoon hours there, too. Sure, Core can hold the most people, but that still doesn’t mean you’re finding a seat easily.

In terms of Core’s pizza, I’d rank it second. It’s very doughy and thick, if that’s your style. Overall, Core can feel intimidating because of its size, but it is really nice and usually has a great food selection. Take a friend with you the first time you go, so you can figure out the multiple rooms and food stations together.

Douthit is the dining hall I go to the least, but only because I’m never really on that side of campus. If you live in a Douthit dorm, though, absolutely go, because it’s great. Located above Clemson’s bookstore and a gym, Douthit gets very busy and crowded constantly. It’s smaller than the other dining halls, but people love it because it feels newer and more modern.

I’ve seen lines at Douthit wrap around entire rooms, and if you aren’t willing to wait in them, your best bet at that point is pizza or a salad. I’d say Douthit has the smallest range of food out of the three, but it’s still good if you go on a good day.

That said, Douthit has my favorite pizza among the three dining halls. Most of the time when I’m there, that’s what I get.

For Douthit specifically, go at an unpopular time — not noon, and definitely not around 5 p.m. — because it’s so small.

I never went to dining halls for dinner last year, but I did during my freshman year, and quickly learned not to go during normal dinner hours. I highly recommend going to dinner at a dining hall around 7:30 or 8 p.m. Thank me later.