During the night of Fri., April 26, prom will be held at The Craftwood Inn in Manitou Springs. This event has been long awaited throughout the year by the upperclassmen of MSHS, marking a high school milestone to some. With all the talk about prom among the students, one idea has been repeated over and over in the past months: prom is too expensive.
If admission was the only payment involved with prom, that would be much less of an issue. However, outfits for the night tend to be at least $80 but some sources say they could possibly go up to $500. For a few affordable options, MSHS’s National Honor Society gives away dresses every year, and most thrift stores have a sizable amount of formal wear for a semi-affordable price. Unfortunately, these options are a mixed bag when it comes to uniqueness, quality and fit.
The main cost issue for most students is the ticket. In the span of three months this slip of paper goes from $65 to $85. Those who cannot get the early tickets are left with two other options for ticket buying, $75 or $85. This does not include clothing or other possible pre-prom activities.
On Colorado’s base minimum wage for entry level jobs, it would take approximately six hours to raise the amount of money it would cost to buy the most expensive prom ticket. This is six hours that could already be taken up by sports, extracurriculars and school work. So where does the average student find time to work this amount in addition to seven hour school days? For some, this may be easy. They have a job that pays well or enough savings or free time to work. But for many others, working is not and cannot be a top priority. There are also a multitude of costs the average high school upperclassman may be considering like a car or college, along with the seemingly endless amount of costs that seem to come along with them.
Even the possibility of asking a parent or guardian for the money that prom requires may not be an option in some cases. Colorado’s unemployment rate reached over 3% as of January of this year, leaving many citizens unable to afford novel costs like a prom ticket for their children. As much as a guardian may want this experience for their high schooler, prom as a whole may be an unaffordable cost to some families.
So what can the average high school student do to save costs? A second hand outfit is a viable option to most students, regardless of their personal price range, as well as cutting on extra costs such as extravagant meals. Prom is intended to be a fun and unforgettable night, not to be weighed down by its costs. If possible, prom’s ticket prices should be lowered to a more reasonable amount. More students would be able to afford to attend and others would have a less stressful experience surrounding the entire situation. Overall, prom should be an enjoyable experience to everyone, of which costs should not be a hindrance.
