Here are some of the best questions for a high school senior student survey about prom planning preferences, plus key tips on crafting them. You can use Specific to instantly build and customize these surveys to fit your needs.
Best open-ended questions for high school senior student survey about prom planning preferences
Open-ended questions let students share stories, explain their thinking, and highlight details that don’t fit into canned answers. They’re especially useful when you want to learn why students care about certain traditions, or which new ideas matter most.
About 76% of students say prom is a key high school milestone—and their motivations and concerns are as unique as their plans. [1] When you’re looking for specific feedback, open-ended prompts can uncover details you didn’t expect.
What does prom mean to you personally?
What factors are most important in planning your ideal prom night?
How do you feel about the current prom theme ideas?
Describe your main considerations when deciding whether or not to attend prom.
What are your biggest worries about attending or planning prom?
If you could change one thing about past proms, what would it be and why?
How do you usually plan for prom-related costs?
What suggestions do you have to help make prom more inclusive?
Can you share a story about a favorite prom memory or what you hope for this year?
What are your thoughts on prom safety and what would make you feel most comfortable?
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for high school senior student survey about prom planning preferences
Single-select multiple-choice questions are ideal when you want to quantify common preferences or make it easy for students to share quick opinions. They work best when you want a snapshot—your baseline for conversation—before diving into the “why” with follow-up questions.
Question: What aspect of prom planning are you most interested in?
Choosing the theme
Venue selection
Music/DJ options
Food and catering
Question: What is your biggest concern regarding prom?
Cost
Safety
Finding a date
Missing classes/events
Other
Question: How do you plan to travel to prom?
With friends in a group
With a date
By myself
With family
Not attending
When to follow up with "why?" If you want richer insights behind a choice—like “Cost” as the biggest concern—always ask “why?” as a follow-up. This not only validates the answer but also uncovers new issues (like the $919 average expense per student [1]) you might solve as a committee. For example: “What about the cost is most challenging for you?”
When and why to add the "Other" choice? “Other” gives students room to share something unexpected. Sometimes, their top concern or idea doesn’t fit pre-made categories; by including this option and following up with “Can you tell us more?” you get valuable surprises.
Should you include an NPS question for prom planning?
NPS—Net Promoter Score—asks, “How likely are you to recommend this experience/event to a friend?” It reveals overall sentiment, providing a quick benchmark of student enthusiasm or concerns. For something as important (and costly) as prom, an NPS-style question helps you spot if students are truly excited or holding back. As 25% of students have skipped prom due to financial constraints [1], this metric is a great early warning sign for engagement or dissatisfaction. Here’s a ready-to-launch NPS survey template for high school students planning prom.
The power of follow-up questions
We take follow-up questions seriously at Specific—they’re what make conversations insightful, not just transactional. Instead of a one-way form, you can create a survey where every answer can trigger a smart follow-up from AI, just like a thoughtful interviewer. (See how this works in-depth in our article on automated follow-up questions.)
For example, if a student responds vaguely:
High school senior: “I’m not sure if I want to go.”
AI follow-up: “What’s holding you back from attending this year’s prom?”
Without that probing, you just wouldn’t know if the issue is financial, social, or practical. A follow-up draws out the reason, so planners can help more students take part or address safety, inclusion, or cost concerns (especially when 33.8% of attendees reported consuming alcohol on prom night, raising safety flags [2]).
How many followups to ask? In most student surveys, 2-3 targeted follow-ups are enough to dig deep without pushing too hard. Specific automatically stops once it collects the info you wanted—and you can refine this setting for your flow.
This makes it a conversational survey—every student feels heard, not just counted. These dynamic, back-and-forth AI surveys boost engagement and quality.
Easy AI analysis, even with lots of text: No need to manually read dozens (or hundreds) of replies. Our AI-powered survey response analysis tool finds common themes and highlights, so you get fast, actionable insights—no spreadsheets required.
Try generating your survey and experience how these automated followup questions lead to smarter feedback instantly.
How to prompt ChatGPT (or other GPTs) to generate great survey questions
If you want AI to do more of the heavy lifting, how you phrase your prompt matters. Start simple:
Ask for open-ended questions first:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for High School Senior Student survey about Prom Planning Preferences.
If you want even better results, tell it about your goals and unique needs:
We’re planning prom for 400 high school seniors. The planning committee wants to ensure the event is inclusive, affordable, and safe. Students are concerned about cost, travel logistics, and feeling included. Suggest 10 open-ended survey questions to understand students’ top priorities and pain points for prom planning this year.
Once you have your question list, organize it:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Then, if you want to go deeper on a particular theme, ask for more:
Generate 10 questions for categories like “Event Logistics” and “Inclusivity.”
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey uses AI-powered chat to engage students directly in natural conversation—no more dull, static forms. Instead of answering a rigid list, students answer context-aware questions, and the AI asks smart follow-ups. This two-way format is not just friendlier—it delivers deeper insight, as students feel comfortable explaining their unique needs and experiences.
Manual Survey | AI-Generated Conversational Survey |
|---|---|
Fixed questions, no adaptation | Dynamically adapts to each answer |
Requires manual follow-up via email (if any) | Gets clarifications instantly in one conversation |
Slow to analyze—requires spreadsheets | AI summarizes and analyzes text automatically |
One experience for all students | Personalized, engaging flow for each student |
Why use AI for high school senior student surveys? With nearly 1 in 4 students skipping prom due to cost [1], you need clarity fast. An AI survey builder like Specific lets you build, test, and iterate on feedback tools in minutes. Plus, you can hand off the analysis to the AI and focus on solutions instead of staring at raw data. For tips on building your own, check out our step-by-step guide for survey creation.
We believe Specific offers the best user experience for conversational surveys, so you—and your students—get richer feedback with zero hassle. Whether you’re building a quick AI survey example or designing a robust feedback program, the conversational approach ensures both engagement and insight.
See this Prom Planning Preferences survey example now
Get the answers you need from high school seniors with a conversational AI survey that’s easy to build, engaging, and gives you powerful insight instantly.