@beverlywest you can message me if you have questions about Denton and I’ll try to help. The two hotels that I know are on the bus route are the Hampton Inn on Centre Place Dr and the Spring Hill right across the street. I also see one Airbnb available that’s easy walking distance to the music building. Uber and Lyft are readily available in Denton.
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Is this an important audition for him? Not sure that is the time for experimentation. If he has done these things by himself before then that is different but if he has never done it before and this one is important it may be worth it to not question it later.
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It’s true this is a very important audition for him–one of his favorite schools/jazz programs and very selective. He’s only auditioned twice in person at other schools. Thinking about it that way, it might be worth $800. However, I’m not sure about that, and agree with compmom that it could be an empowering adventure. He could actually do even better by himself than with me lurking around. LOL. I just wish there were a hotel really close. On the map, it looks like the university is surrounded by highways.
What is the closest airport?
And…if it is $800 for you to go on his flights, you could perhaps fly on a different flight or even on a different day for less and meet up with him there if you think your presence there would be helpful.
I fly to Texas a lot (I have family there) and fly into various cities depending on the price point.
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To me it sounds like it is worth trying to go with him.
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Hotels are pretty close to the UNT campus. In fact you can see the Mean Green from the highway- I want to say I35 W? If he is flying into DFW or Love Field he will
Be fine with an Uber. I would definitely suggest Uber over busses. I second calling the hotel. They are usually pretty accommodating. Good luck to your son!!
Springhill Suites is 1.3 miles from campus. We stayed there on our way to Oklahoma a few years ago.
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Flying into Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denton is about 30 miles from there. (@MMRose Love Field is close, too, but the prices are similar). I found a flight where if I’m willing to fly north to Seattle (a 3 hour drive from my house) and wait there for 4 hours, I can then fly to Dallas for $425! That brings it back to the level of reality. I may do that.
Yikes! But…a pretty big savings. I’m assuming you don’t have any frequent flyer miles you can cash in for a less-expensive flight?
I had similar issues when my daughter, as a teenager(with a credit card) attended out of town conferences where she was given a ride. I was able to pre-pay the hotel rooms and guarantee with my card at most of the big chains. She didn’t actually stay by herself, she split the room with an adult female who had travelled in, but the reservation was on my card and under my name.
Lots of ways to manage this and no right or wrong. For my kid, on the way TO the audition, I would have her Lyft to hotel (absent a hotel shuttle) and then Lyft to music school (if not walking distance). I would save experimenting with a new transit system for the return. On the front side of the audition, I want everything to be as streamlined as possible.
Regarding the $800–1 ticket now, 2 tickets later. That’s a dilemma for sure. In our case, this year after a couple of anxious experiences, I’ve finally given up and just started buying tickets 1 fare class up whenever D is traveling with her instrument and related gear.
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Does anyone have ideas on sending a thank you when it is for a panel of teachers? In most places, there are 4-8 teachers in my child’s auditions. While he has specified preferences at some schools, usually he still has listed 3-4 different teachers. I think it would be weird to send thank yous to all of them (especially the ones you listed second, third, or fourth). Any ideas?
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Just a suggestion, but perhaps sit down with your son and get his take on the two options…if he will tell you.
When my kid was traveling alone for auditions, he was down to his last 2. These involved flying across the country, then back to back auditions (24 hours apart) with a 90 minute train ride and Ubers in between. I was super nervous as I had heard in winters past that at times the trains shut down due to ice and the back up plan would need to be a rental car. Which is of course impossible for a 17 year old. And honestly a part of me just wanted to be involved in the excitement of it all.
I offered to go with my son. He so kindly told me that he would be fine on his own. He was right. To him, this whole process was part of growing up. And very likely, much as I try to hide my emotions, I probably make him nervous.
Every kid is different…I am glad mine was able to express himself at the time. It is hard to read their minds.
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I probably do this, too! 
Thank you for sharing your experience.
I’m on the phone now with hotels and have gotten two NOs and one YES about him checking in alone. The yes is from a hotel he’ll have to uber from, but at least it will work.
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This is my thought, too. Get there with certainty, then you can spend a while getting back “home”. I think this is what we did in Miami.
My husband is usually good at the plane ticket hunting, but he made a mistake this time. One trick that worked for him and my kid: on the way home from NOLA, he paid extra for my kid to get priority boarding, so he could talk with the flight attendants about his guitar before hundreds of people were already fighting for space. I think I’ll do that for this time, too, especially since he’ll be by himself.
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Priority boarding is a great idea. My D just has a snare, so as long as she is not one of the last boarding groups or on a teeny tiny airplane, she is generally ok.
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For those who auditioned at Oberlin, did your students get a form asking if their studio teacher preference had changed and asking for any updates they might have?
Trying to figure out if this is standard. Thanks.
I’m a drumline mom, so the first thing I pictured was her trying to put a gigantic drum with a harness in the overhead bins. 
Percussion is so cool. My son also plays percussion in his wind ensemble (at a much more casual level).
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Oh no. Thank goodness she doesn’t have to travel with a bass drum. Only her snare. She puts her stick bag, stand, and practice pad in her suitcase–which makes it pretty heavy. It’s wonderful that your son is able to do percussion as well. I’m in awe of these talented kids!
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Mine finally gave up on schlepping the snare. Just a really big stick bag and a lot of aux equipment (funny story about getting stopped by Berlin airport security about his triangle…almost missed his flight) and now I think he’s been starting to carry his cymbals.