Every year, students all over the U.S spend thousands of dollars on one night, the night of nights, the night they’ll remember for the rest of their lives: prom night. For years, prom has slowly integrated itself into the high school culture of the United States. According to Visa Inc.’s annual prom survey, kids will spend an average of $919 on prom this year. But, is all this money worth the experience that teens actually are actually getting?

I interviewed seniors that attended prom last year to see what they had to say,asking them to rank the experience on a scale of 1-10 and estimate what they spent on it.

Ally

I’d rate it a five. It wasn’t horrible. Including my dress, I probably spent about $1,000; I paid for both tickets so that’s like $300, my dress was $400, the shoes were $100 and then money for the party bus. So that’s $1,000.  It wasn’t worth the thousand dollars, no. But I feel like the experience was; you have to go to prom one time. It’s a high school experience you need.

Dean

I’d give it a seven. I spent maybe like, $500. I’d say the money was not worth it. I thought the place was horrible, and the food was terrible.

Brooke

I’d give it a five and a half. The food was okay. The music wasn’t the greatest, it was really bad actually. I spent probably around $1000, because I had to pay for my date’s ticket too. I’d say it was worth it for one year though. I’m debating whether or not I should go back this year, because I don’t wanna waste money.  I’m never gonna wear that dress again.

Dante

Four. I spent probably above $300. I didn’t have a good time because the venue was bad. The food was horrible. Horrible music. My steak was bleeding way more than it should have been. For the venue they gave us, no. I wouldn’t go again this year.

Brandon

Seven. It was fun being around all my friends and it was a good time. I spent I’d say close to $500.  As far as whether was it worth the experience, I think it was a little expensive.

Nicolette

It was good, I’d give it a six. I’d say I paid probably $800. It was worth the experience for one year, but, it wasn’t all the talk. It wasn’t what you expect. It was kind of boring and the food was really really bad. The only thing that was good was the mashed potatoes. The chicken was really bad. The music was bad and our town can’t dance.