Mali Arreola

While prom traditions can be fun, they add expenses that make the experience less accessible.

As prom season reaches its peak, BSM students are excitedly purchasing their tickets and outfits. Prom is a staple part of high school, but this important memory comes at a high cost. From dresses to dinner, prom has gone from a non-negotiable event to attend to a question of affordability. Unfortunately, this has led some students to opt out of the experience.

Prom tickets, especially here at Benilde-St. Margaret’s are expensive. Where the average Prom ticket sits somewhere between $45-65, BSM prom tickets rest at $100 each, with guest tickets being charged to the BSM student’s tuition. The ticket prices alone are a strong deterrent, but most students buy a new dress or suit for the event which can tack on another $100 or more to the price. On average, students spend $100-500 on dresses and around the same price range for suits. For unemployed students or families with more important things to use the money for, finding a couple hundred dollars to put towards prom can be difficult or unreasonable.

While dinner is provided at the event, it isn’t always inclusive. Gluten-free and vegetarian options are provided in the buffet, but some students are concerned it won’t be sufficient and are planning to dine prior to the event, further adding to the expense. Buffets in past years have also been very limited in their options so if students aren’t interested in the few options, a lot of that money goes to waste.There are plenty of other minor expenses associated with prom as well. Corsages and boutonnieres are a popular tradition of the event. Each of these can cost anywhere from $10-45 or more. This brings the average cost up to around $300-350 per person or $400-450 with a guest. These expenses are not necessary, but are tradition among attendees, and especially when everyone in your group is planning to follow traditions like these, students might feel inclined to spend extra in order to fit in.

While there are plenty of ways to minimize the cost of prom, but $100 is an expensive enough ticket to deter students. Especially if a student is bringing a guest and using the venue’s garage, this price can be a reasonable motive to skip the event. While the venue and food need to be paid for, the same is true for surrounding schools with much lower ticket prices, and the quality of the venue is not so important that it should be more important than attempting to keep prom affordable. Prom is a valuable memory that should be accessible to all students without causing stress to families and guests.