As the end of the school year approaches, excitement and anxiety are rising among high school seniors on the Eastside. Schools are packing the final months with events like prom, grad night, and other social outings.
Although senior activities are not mandatory, for many students, it’s a big part of celebrating the end of high school. But that comes with a heavy price tag. The cost of senior year – on top of portraits, cap and gown, and yearbooks – can place stress on some students and families, forcing them to make difficult choices about what they can afford.
To help cover these expenses, some students take on jobs, start small businesses or hold fundraisers. Others opt out of the fun, unable to participate due to the high costs.
Michelle Leon, a senior at Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High School, has been fundraising since the start of the school year to cover senior expenses, selling everything from popcorn and chocolates to Krispy Kreme donuts.
“The fundraising I’m doing lessens the burden on my dad, so he wouldn’t have to pay as much,” said the 18-year-old. Leon’s fundraising has paid for half of her Disneyland Grad Nite ticket.
When it came to prom, tickets were only part of the cost. Leon also had to think about the costs of her dress, hair, makeup and shoes. According to NorthJersey.com’s 2025 breakdown, prom dresses average from $250 to $350. Hair, makeup, and nail services average about $300, while shoes and accessories can add another $150 to $200.
Fortunately, Leon’s $200 dress was sponsored by Emily Carrillo, a special education teacher at Mendez High School.
Aware of the economic hardships students face, Carrillo and other teachers at Mendez High launched Dream Come True Closet, a program that allows partnering organizations to sponsor the cost of students’ prom attire, jewelry, or tickets.
“We want students to go to prom, and we don’t want the reason for their absence to be because of finances,” said Carrillo.
Through the initiative, school staff have helped 28 seniors receive dresses and have supported 10 students by purchasing their prom tickets.
“If there’s definitely a way that we can support, we’re going to do it together as a community,” Carrillo said. She hopes to continue partnering with small businesses in downtown L.A. that are willing to offer discounts to Mendez students by purchasing attire at their stores.
But not all local schools offer this kind of support. Aaliyah Calderon, student body president of Roosevelt High, has noticed that high prices are forcing students to choose between senior activities like grad night or prom.
She said students have started their own small businesses doing eyelash extensions, nails and haircuts to save money for their senior year.
Roosevelt offers free to inexpensive senior activities like senior sunrise, where seniors gather on the school’s field to watch the sun rise – giving everyone a chance to participate in senior traditions. The school also planned to raffle off a few free prom tickets, which normally start at $135, for lucky students. Calderon noted that her school’s college center “already gave out two prom tickets to students just by filling out their FAFSA.”
For 18-year-old Ema Clemons, a senior at Francisco Bravo High School, months of fundraising left her discouraged after she only raised a small amount for her $150 prom ticket and $275 grad night ticket.
Like many schools, Bravo implements a “senior dues” system, where students purchase a package that includes a T-shirt, yearbook, panorama photo, souvenir, senior breakfast, diploma cover and a medal for a total of $190.
“My school doesn’t help. We’ve gone to fundraise at Panda Express and a lot of kids don’t go to it, so we don’t get money out of it,” said Clemons.
Because she knew her family could not afford the senior expenses, she resorted to working a job in addition to going to school.
“I have a single mom. She takes care of three people. That’s three mouths to feed,” she said. “It just stresses my mom, because then she has to worry about another kid the next year. My brother goes into senior [year] next year.”