By Megan Jicha

Northeastern’s first annual formal ball, hosted by the Resident Student Association, will be held at The Marriott Copley Hotel Grand Ballroom on Saturday. For $25, students can relive their high school prom days with a night of dinner and dancing. However, if prom wasn’t a hit the first time around, the News has some tips to make this one a night to remember.

Spring is right around the corner, which means one thing for high schoolers and now Northeastern students – it’s almost time for prom.

Teeny-booper magazines, like Seventeen, suggest planning for prom about four months in advance to ensure the “perfect night,” but students like freshman biology major Jade McPherson believe minimal planning, shopping and preparation are necessary for this college ball.

“This formal isn’t as significant, like high school prom was, so people don’t want to spend a lot of money or time on it,” she said. “I’m even making my friends pay for my ticket since they are making me go.”

Although Jessica LaTorre, a freshman communications major, said she spent a lot of money on her high school prom, she now realizes it was a bit frivolous.

“When you think about it, it’s just one night of your life so it’s not really worth it to spend so much money,” she said.

Additionally, a college budget does not allow for the extravagant spending high schoolers put toward their prom night.

“I rented a tux in high school and I can’t quite afford that now,” said Nathan Hackmeister, freshman civil and environmental engineering major.

However there are some affordable options to make this formal a hit.

For women, they could wear a high school prom dress or any other formal dress from a previous event.

Doesn’t quite fit?

Well, that’s just an incentive to spend some time at the gym or, better yet, borrow a friend’s dress.

To save even more money, students could have their friends or roommates do their hair, makeup and nails instead of going to a salon.

For those lucky few who are able to drop some cash on a dress, www.promgirl.net says dresses with flowers and romantic light colors are big this year. And remember dresses with adornments, lace and rhinestone embroidery are timeless.

However, when buying a dress, however, don’t just go for style but comfort as well, said Misty Conner, a senior human services major .

“Fashion isn’t a big deal to me. You should just be comfortable in what you wear,” she said.

When it comes to hair and makeup, go for simple – but stunning. Stylists suggest updating classic looks or simply wearing your hair down.

“It’s also always fun to try to imitate hairstyles of the stars. It takes some time but it usually turns out looking great,” said Katie Drago, a freshman art major.

If guys have always rented a tuxedo for major events, perhaps it may be a good time to splurge and buy their own. If money is tight, a formal suit will do.

Men can also make their formal style their own by wearing a colored tuxedo, pastel colors being the most popular.

Or they can punk out their formalwear by wearing tuxedo or suit shorts instead of pants, or a colored vest.

When it comes to those prom extras like limos and money for after-parties, students like Mark Trant, a freshman criminal justice major, said he would go without the limo and would spend little money on doing something after the dance.

“If I were going [to the formal] with a bunch of people, then I’d rent something so it wouldn’t be expensive, but if it were just me and a date, I wouldn’t,” he said.

Money may be tight and it is no longer high school, but a formal could be just as fun now as it was then, Drago said.

“It’ll be a fun night. I just want to go and dance in a circle with my friends around our shoes and pocketbooks,” she said.