I know this has been touched in other places: Do you recommend reserving hotels and flights before hearing back about whether a student passes prescreens? While she has her preferred dates and they all fit into one schedule, will she really be able to choose dates and if so, should I reserve hotels and airfare now? U Michigan specifically says NOT to do this, but I thought a lot of people here were reserving space in anticipation of good news. Thanks for your input!
This is such a tricky venture. In cities (like, say Boston) where there are plenty of hotel rooms you could probably hold off on hotel, but for a city where there are fewer hotels and it’s likely to be difficult to find one near the audition, might be best to reserve now. I’d suggest making refundable hotel reservations (which are sometimes, unfortunately, pricier than locking in a rate with a nonrefundable prepayment) and holding off on air reservations, except in a case like Southwest, where you can change flights without penalty.
Thank you @glassharmonica Most of her colleges are in major cities, so perhaps we will just wait and hope for the best. BTW: My daughter tried to build a three note glass harmonica in 7th grade. It had a hand crank and kind-of worked. Gave her great respect for the ingenuity of Franklin!
We found hotels and auditions to be tricky. There’s the whole issue of being able to practice/warm up in the hotel room, and we found that most colleges had one or two ideal hotels nearby that were accommodating toward prospective students. When we were in Boston last year for auditions, there was extraordinary snow to deal with. We were very grateful that we had booked a hotel where practicing was allowed.
So I would definitely book hotel rooms now, with refundable reservations. Also most hotels will offer special rates for colleges/conservatories, so call the hotels directly rather than booking online. Flights – that is really difficult to book in advance (with the exception of Southwest). Good luck!
As said above, be sure to check if the school has a deal with a hotel with a block of rooms for a reduced rate. It is typically on their website about auditions or you can call and ask. This saved us a chuck of change during auditions. My D never had difficulties getting rooms at these hotels as they were set aside.
I reserved hotels beforehand. It was refundable and staying close by the schools enhanced the whole experience.
I reserved hotels near all the schools - walking distance (except for U of M). All on the dates that D had requested, and way before the prescreen results came back. Although it may have been tempting fate, it worked out very well. I was glad to have reservations at places that might have filled up quickly. Definitely ask for the audition rate. Having the hotel booked removed stress.
And being in a hotel at audition time is a lot of fun! You hear violinists and singers through the walls and behind closed doors as you pass through the hallways. It heightens that whole “I’m going to music school!” feeling for your student, I think!
I booked a cross country flight with reward points before we knew. When the acceptance and audition time came it conflicted with the flight but the school was very accommodating in re-scheduling the audition so she could make it.
I would definitely book hotels. Those are easily cancelled with no fee.
Keep in mind that in NYC and Boston especially in January and February there are often last minute hotel deals to be had at small hotels. More often than not one can get an amazing room for a greatly discounted rate because for many high end hotels it is better to fill the room than to leave it empty. We once almost got stuck in NYC due to our train being delayed and we were hoping the train would be cancelled because my husband had found a great deal at a very high end luxury hotel for that evening.
Also I am not sure how you can book hotels for auditions when you can not be sure of the audition date. Even when I thought we knew the audition date based on past years or material on the web site, the date ended up being slightly different. READ FINE PRINT. There are hidden fees everywhere with hotels and airlines.