<p>I'm trying to think of the most cost-efficient way to do my auditions. The list that I have to fly to places to audition follows:</p>
<p>Baldwin-Wallace
Elon
UMich (Chicago unifieds)
Hartt (Chicago unifieds)
Penn State (Chicago unifieds)
James Madison</p>
<p>I would also like to miss the least amount of school. I'm coming from Seattle. And I know I'm late on turning my apps in! I'm finishing my Elon app now and already turned in my UMich app. I'm trying to get everything done so I can schedule my auditions, but I don't know when I should schedule them for! Please help, I don't know what I should do.</p>
<p>I am not sure of the schedule for the elon audition dates, but elon is about a 5 hour drive from JMU I think. If you had elon on a Friday or a Sunday, you could most likely make JMU on Saturday. In the school of theatre and dance at JMU we will work to accommodate travel schedules where possible. PM me if you have any questions.</p>
<p>Ninny - some of this will really have to do with what audition dates are still available, but I looked the Feb 6/7 'back to back' option up for you. It comes down to this, you would be traveling pretty much all of Thu. Feb 5 to get to Elon in the evening. Your audition at Elon typically takes "all day", and there is a flight to Cleveland from Charlotte at 8 pm, which means you would get to Cleveland very late Friday evening, while you would need to "get out of Elon by 5 PM" to allow for traffic and airport security.</p>
<p>Overall, I really don't think I would recommend doing something like that, it seems exhausting to me, and the "room for error" (what if the audition runs late or what if there is traffic, what if a flight gets canceled etc.) seems nerve wrecking too. My D last year did do back-to-back auditions in NYC, and in Pittsburgh. She loved doing multiple audition weekends, but of course in her case they did not involve big time travel in between :D.</p>
<p>OOOh don't fly out of Charlotte to go to Elon. It's just too far. Try Raleigh or Greensboro which are much closer options. I agree that Elon's audition does last a long time and in order to leave yourself time to get to the airport after auditioning (which will likely be peak rush hour on I-40) I would suggest not getting a flight until around 7pm or so. </p>
<p>If JMU does their auditions on Saturdays, that may very well work with Elon because they do all of theirs on Fridays. Could be a good option! Good luck to you!</p>
<p>Another reminder. February and the midwest means lots of snow possibilities. I know of many students who have been very stressed with time constraints in the past when flights were delayed. Just keep that in mind when booking your travel. You wouldn't want to arrive somewhere in the middle of the night and have to be up very early the next morning for your audition.</p>
<p>Oh dear, I got completely carried away with all my "not so helpfulness" :). Thanks to everyone for setting me straight about the airport situation; I had a blonde moment. We ourselves flew in and out of Greensboro (not Charlotte agh!) last year, and I think that would definitely be the closest to Elon "way to go" :D. </p>
<p>Still, similar travel time issues apply, and what is worse, there is no direct flight to CLE (the closest airport to Berea where Baldwin Wallace is located), and so you would get into Cleveland even later.</p>
<p>In this case Raleigh is more expensive than Greensboro, but there is a direct flight available. However, I doubt if the timing would work out for you, especially as the Elon auditions tend to take up the whole day. Probably safest to schedule those 2 auditions at different times.</p>
<p>Ninnynoodle,
I agree with Kate that driving from Elon on a Friday to JMU for a Saturday might be workable but a stretch because it's not an easy drive. I live in Central Virginia and my daughter did both auditions last year. I see the Google directions say it will take 4 hours but I would say closer to 5. I would give it a try if you are not traveling alone. Hopefully you have a parent coming with you to help with the driving. The navigation is tricky from Elon to Route 29 and around Lynchburg. I also see they having you going 501 to route 60 over the mountain to get to I 81 and it will likely be late. Much of this drive is rural though the roads are ok. I just wanted to let you know what you are looking at .<br>
Also, I would think Elon would try to schedule you early in the day if they know you have the drive to JMU that evening.<br>
Good luck and if I can be helpful feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>I grew up not too far from Elon in southern Virginia and have driven to JMU from there many times. I do not recommend the route that MapQuest gives. I also don't follow the route that my GPS takes me - it chooses a very winding, somewhat scary mountain drive (if you're driving at night.) If you do that drive, PM me and I will tell you what routes I have tried and what I recommend.</p>
<p>My daughter is a sophomore at Elon, and we live in Syracuse NY, and always drive rather than fly, when we visit. We just returned today after seeing Elon's Sweeney Todd this weekend. The route we take from Elon is route 87 which leaves the back of Elon's campus, to route 220 north, to Roanoke VA, then route 81 north which runs right to JMU in Harrisonburg VA (and all the way home to Syracuse). We spent the night there on our way down to Elon this weekend as a matter of fact. It takes under four hours door-to-door from Elon to JMU using that route. We have done it many times. Route 87 takes many turns, but if you watch carefully for signs, it is pretty easy.
I think it would be do-able to get from Elon to JMU, provided you ask for an early audition at Elon. As mentioned, Elon's auditions are always on Fridays, so if you can schedule JMU for Saturday, it should be possible.</p>
<p>I believe that both Elon and BW auditions are all day events. Trying to schedule them back to back would be too difficult. </p>
<p>Also, we always check both RDU and Greensboro airports, because the prices can vary greatly. Usually we find RDU to be cheaper, but sometimes I find a deal at Greensboro.</p>
<p>We flew in and out of Greensboro this past weekend. There is still road construction around the airport. RDU is currently easier to get in and out of. I truly believe it's not but 10 minutes farther to RDU airport than to Greensboro airport from Elon - 15 minutes different at most. You really should use the one that is less expensive from your city.</p>
<p>Charlotte is WAY too far - as kaysmom pointed out - I'd guess 2.5 hours.</p>