In less than a week, America will have a new president, new House members, and depending on the state, new senators and local governing officials. So the question is this: how does one decide who to vote for?

With each candidate’s different views on issues including foreign policy, tax and revenue, civil rights, immigration, gun policy and more, there is much to consider when making a voting decision.

One week before the election, we asked students on campus about what issues are most important to them when choosing a candidate.

“Foreign policy is a big one for me, but I think all domestic issues are important,” graduate student Spencer Orlowski said. “Social issues are important, gay marriage, marijuana legalization, support for Black Lives Matter, I really find everything interesting.”

According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, the most common issue 2016 voters feel is “very important” is the economy.

Brad Alexander of Leitchfield agrees.

“The economy, money makes the world go round,” Alexander said.

In the same poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 72 percent of 2016 voters say gun policy is “very important” to their vote.

“The most important issue to me right now is gun control,” Bowling Green freshman Abby Milliken said. “It’s one of our given rights in the constitution, so any presidential candidate that wants to take that away, I’m just not for.”

Foreign policy is another important topic to many voters in the upcoming election, ranking third in the Pew Research Center’s poll on issues that were “very important” to 2016 voters.

“Foreign and immigration policy are important to me, because tensions are getting high between the U.S. and Russia,” Nashville junior Jason Odine said.

For some voters, it’s not necessarily an opinion on a specific issue they are looking for.

“For me, I don’t know about a specific issue, it’s more about that they recognize the needs of the people,” Rochester, Minnesota, sophomore Lydia Dozier said.

Some people base voting considerations on their career. Danville freshman Calli Young says health care is the issue she focuses on most, because she is going into nursing.

College affordability is another big issue for voters. A chart released by U.S. News reveals that since 1995, in-state tuition and fees at public national universities have increased a staggering 296 percent.

“Who’s going to lower college tuition is what it boils down to for me,” Louisville junior Dekevion Gause said.

Reporter Miles Schroader can be reached at 270-745-2655 and [email protected].