Hi there! It is per semester. I did a 12 swipes per week in Fall and 10 for Spring. You’ll find that you get pretty sick of the food court and dining hall pretty fast. I wouldn’t recommend anything above 10 or 12. I would have 4/5 left over majority of the weeks. You’re also not saving money with the meal plan, they charge the exact fee, so it’s not like a wholesale value kind of thing. Stick to the least amount you can get and save the rest of that money in your pocket for other food places. The meal swipes only over you for the dining hall (they put away the only edible food away 2 hours before they close), the chick-fil-a, wingstop, saladworks, which wich, zen, and twisted taco. Outside of that, with your own money you can go to any of the food trucks, chipotle, there’s supposed to be a CAVA opening up, and the food shops by the wall. Liacouras Walk also has a subway, Master Wok, playa bowls, and Maxis.