WINCHESTER, VA- Students filed into Hester Auditorium at Shenandoah University, Wednesday night to hear the first presidential debate.

"Right now, I would say that I'm favoring Mitt Romney," says Brandon Ewing. "But, I'm not so set in stone," he adds.

"I'm actually the President of the Democratic Club here on campus," says J'Diana Holsinger. "So, of course I'm most excited to watch President Obama," she adds.

"I'm right in the middle," says Catherine Floyd.

Decided or not, the students were clear on issues important to them: the economy, jobs, healthcare and student financial aid. Through intense note-taking, tweeting and facebooking, the students followed each attack and rebuttal to the end. But was it what they expected?

Holsinger says she thought it could have been better, but says she took away some valid points. "I like how the democratic candidate addressed education. He said specifically that he wants to lower the cost of tuition. He said he wants to keep financial aid offered to many people and keep our interest rates low. That is a key player,' she says.

The debates brought some undecided students closer to a decision.

"I think I definitely have a better idea now as to who I would like to vote for," says Floyd. "I think at this point, I'm leaning more towards Romney," she adds.

Many critics felt Mitt Romney came out on top.

"Gov. Romney was very blunt straightforward and to the point," says Ewing. "He was the aggressor in the debate. Obama was a little more passive, kind of sugar coating, trying to appeal to a wider span of people," he opined.

"I think the president missed a lot of opportunities," says Dr. Bill Shendow, Political Science Department Chair at ShenandoahUniversity. "There were a lot of opportunities where he could have called to the attention of those viewing that there were a great deal of inconsistencies from the challenger," he adds.

All of the students said the upcoming debates will be just as important in making their decisions. The next debate will be October 16th between Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan.