High School Senior Year Expenses And How To Save For Them

We’ve listed estimated costs for each activity, service or product based on average prices and the totals from the recent receipts of our own kids’ senior years. The prices listed are merely a suggestion on what to budget. Of course, costs will vary widely depending on your location, what the school offers, what your child prefers, what their goals are after high school and what you’re willing to spend money on. Many of the products, services and activities listed are also optional.

College Admittance Needs

While many students will take the SAT or ACT and start applying to colleges in their junior year, your college senior may be taking a little more time to get the required items together for college admittance, including test scores and applications. If that’s your child, you can expect to spend the following:

• College applications: $35 – $50, per application
• ACT registration fee: $60 – $80, according to ACT.org
• SAT registration fee: $52, according to CollegeBoard.org

Additional testing fees may include late registration, date change and additional score report fees. Keep in mind, too, that college application fees are higher for Ivy League schools.

Ways To Save: Take a look at each school’s application requirements. Some schools only need an SAT or ACT score, not both. Other schools have dropped test score requirements altogether. If that’s the case, your child may not have to take either test. If you’re in a tough financial position, you should also look into getting testing or application fees waived, which could be possible depending on your situation.

Senior Pictures

Senior pictures help capture a moment in your child’s life, their senior year, and will help them remember their teenage selves as everything is changing around them. They’re also nice to have inside graduation announcements and for your senior to pass out to friends and family. Typically, senior pictures also include a composite shot for the yearbook, which usually features special photos for senior students.

• Session fee: $100 – $300
• Printed portrait package: $25 – $300+

The session fee will depend on several factors, including the experience of the photographer, the location, number of wardrobe changes and length of the session.

The cost for the actual pictures varies widely, though the average is $25 – $300. However, picture prices will depend on whether you choose a package or a la carte, or both. It will also depend on whether you purchase print or digital images, what size photos you choose and how many photos you purchase.

Keep in mind, too, that some photographers may charge additional fees, like editing and retouching.

Ways To Save: Consider hiring a family friend, student photographer or professional photographer trying to build their portfolio. You can also reduce the price by limiting your child’s wardrobe options to just one or two and choose only one location. If digital prints are less expensive, you can buy those and then have them printed on a discount print site.

Senior Prom

One of the biggest nights for many seniors is senior prom. It’s a chance for them to get dressed up and celebrate the year they’ve had. It’s also one of the last big high school events your senior will have with their classmates.

• Prom tickets: $50 – $100
• Prom dress, shoes and accessories: $500
• Tuxedo rental: $150
• Hair and makeup: $125
• Nails (basic manicure and pedicure): $40 – $60
• Boutonniere/corsage: $10 – $40

Ways To Save: If your child is wearing a prom dress, buy the gown during the off-season. January is still early, and New Year’s gowns may be on sale. An added bonus is that there’s less risk of your child having the same dress as someone else at the dance.

When it comes to saving money on beauty services, DIY is always the cheapest way to go. As for flowers, remember fresh flowers and complicated designs are more expensive. If you choose fresh flowers, you can opt for less expensive ones, like carnations or daisies, to save some money.

Graduation Ceremony

It’s the moment you and your high school student have been waiting for – graduation day! You’ll finally get to see them walk across the stage in their cap and gown, move their tassel to the left side and toss their cap in the air. But first, you’ll need to buy the required ceremony uniform.

• Cap, gown and tassel: $30 – $50
• Graduation outfit: $50

Ways To Save: While graduation isn’t a jean-shorts-and-T-shirt kind of event, keep in mind that, during the ceremony, your child will be wearing a cap and gown. That means you won’t need to splurge on a new, designer outfit for your graduate or require them to wear a formal dress or nice suit. Instead, have them wear something that’s already in their closet, borrow from a friend or buy something on the sale rack. It is important to remember that you will be able to see the shoes, so if your child only has dirty sneakers, you may want to buy or borrow a nicer pair.

Graduation Party

The graduation party doesn’t just celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of your graduate. It should also celebrate your hard work through the years! This is the moment to celebrate the big milestone and breathe a sigh of relief. And, if you’re accepting gifts, it can also be a chance for your child to get some thoughtful items, dorm stuff and money for college.

• Invitations: $0.50 – $2 per card
• Food and beverages: Varies by number of guests
• Tables and chairs: $2 – $10 per chair, $6 – $12 per table
• Decorations: $50
• Thank you cards: $0.20 – $2 per card

Ways To Save: Prices will vary widely depending on the location of the party, food choices and how many people are attending. To save on invites, consider creating a Facebook event for the grad party with all the details and send only a select few invites to those who don’t use social media. Avoid renting tables and chairs by borrowing them from friends and family. Or, partner with other parents of high school seniors and rotate tables, chairs and decorations per grad party. And if you make the party open-house style between lunch and dinner times, you could skip out on the catering bill and just offer snacks and beverages instead of a full meal. You could also do a potluck to keep food costs low.

Other Miscellaneous Costs To Consider

From senior swag to senior trips and other celebrations, there are a few costs that may not fit into one of the categories above. Here are some others you may want to include when budgeting for your child’s senior year of high school.

• Graduation announcements: $0.50 – $3 per card
• Yearbook: $30 – $100
• Class ring: $150 – $400
• Senior all-night party: $50 – $70
• Graduation gift: varies by gift
• Senior trip: varies by location
• Campus tours: varies by location

Ways To Save: Graduation announcements are more of a formality and a celebration of your child’s accomplishment for those closest to them. Consider saving those for only a select few close family members and announcing your child’s graduation to the rest of your circle via social media.

As for campus tours, many colleges have embraced virtual tours since COVID-19, so consider opting for these instead of spending money to see the campus in person.

These are just some of the costs you may incur during your child’s senior year of high school. While most parents want to give their kids the world, the reality is that most can’t. And what does that teach your children anyway?

If you aren’t prepared, senior year expenses could put you in a bad financial situation. Budgeting is key, but so is putting some of the responsibility on your child to help them prepare for the costs of real life. Requesting that they pay for some of these expenses can help teach them financial responsibility and key financial habits, like budgeting. Work with your child to pay for senior year expenses, even if it’s just a small contribution on their part. That may mean creating an allowance, having them work a part-time job, asking them to sacrifice unnecessary things (like a class ring or expensive designer gown) or even having them make a few DIY items. With a budget in place and your high school senior on board, you’ll at least be financially prepared for your child’s senior year of high school. Now, emotionally prepared is another story.