Supporting your growth, fueling your success
Welcome Back! Penn Dining's cafés are places to build community, enrich the student experience, and enhance student wellness.
Reasons to get excited
- More Flexibility for Second-Year Students
- Quality Ingredients
- Memorable and Meaningful Experiences
- Convenient Options
Second-Year Options
The Second-Year Dining Initiative is part of our commitment to build community on campus while working closely with the programs of the dedicated Second-Year Experience. Incorporating student feedback, we are offering a dining plan designed specifically for second-year students, bringing you variety, convenience, and value with a lower cost per swipe. In addition, second-year students can also choose either of the two first-year plans.
- Best for:
Smaller tailored meals and grab-n-go options.
Second-Year 156
- 156 swipes per semester
- $300 Dining Dollars per semester
- Averages to 10 meals per week
- Priced & contracted annually, billed per semester
- Best for:
Eating the majority of your meals at our all-you-care-to-eat locations.
First-Year 296
- 296 swipes per semester
- $125 Dining Dollars per semester
- Averages to 19 meals per week
- Priced & contracted annually, billed per semester
- Best for:
Eating more meals at our retail locations.
First-Year 187
- 187 swipes per semester
- $400 Dining Dollars per semester
- Averages to 12 meals per week
- Priced & contracted annually, billed per semester
Special diet? We’ve got you covered.
Gutmann offers a unique dining experience
Gourmet Grocer is Penn's on-campus grocery market
Important Information
Second-Year Need to Know
Are second-years required to have a dining plan?
Second-year students are required to sign-up for one of three dining plans - either of the two First-Year Dining Plans or a specially designed second-year plan. Students sign up for their plans when they apply for their housing assignment. Students wishing to change their dining plans may do so once during the Fall Change Period, August 25 to September 15, 2026, and once during the Spring Change Period, January 20 to February 10, 2027.
When does my Dining Plan start and end?
| Aug. 19 | Dining Plans begin |
|---|---|
| Aug. 25 | Fall Change Period opens |
| Sep. 7 | Labor Day - limited operations |
| Sep. 15 | Fall Change Period ends |
| Oct. 1-4 | Fall Break - limited operations |
| Nov. 26-29 | Thanksgiving Break - limited operations |
| Dec. 17 | End of Fall Term - All cafes closed and Fall swipes/visits expire |
What are Guest Swipes
Guest Swipes allow you to share a meal with friends and family. All first and second-year dining plans include 10 guest swipes per semester. (The guest swipes are counted in the total semester allocation.)
Pricing & billing information
Dining plans represent contracts for the entire Academic Year, but are allocated/billed per semester. Fall 2026 billing will begin on July 8, 2026. Dining plans purchased prior to July 1, 2026 will be posted to students’ bursar bills by July 2026. After that date, charges will be posted to students’ bursar bills on a rolling weekly basis. Spring 2027 billing will first appear on students’ bursar bills by November 2026. Spring 2027 plans purchased after that date will be billed on a rolling weekly basis.
Have more questions?
To see all of our FAQs about Dining please click here.