<p>Thank you both!</p>
<p>And evilqueen’s list is a mere sampling of the number of schools that are there, either at the Palmer House or a few blocks away. Like vvnstar said, there is nothing unified about Unifieds! :)</p>
<p>Coastal Carolina University will once again be in Chicago during Unifieds:
<a href=“http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/html/auditions.html”>http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/html/auditions.html</a></p>
<p>I’m wondering if anyone can answer my question. I heard a parent say that she wished she had done Chicago Unifieds rather than New York? Didn’t get a chance to ask her why. Is there a marked difference? Don’t have to worry about Unifieds until 2016 but I’m just curious. When it’s our time New York is definitely the most convenient.</p>
<p>Chicago is one day longer, so you can (potentially) squeeze in more auditions. Also, some schools (not sure which) ONLY do Chicago. It will all depend on your list when the time comes. </p>
<p>OK. Thanks @MTmom2015!</p>
<p>Chicago is also (I believe) more centrally located- meaning that a large group of schools are all in the same hotel (the Palmer house). You could potentially stay in the hotel, audition for a dozen (or more) schools- and never leave the building! Don’t believe that is the case in NY- at least the people I know who did NY did not have that experience. Now to be fair, neither did we in Chicago- 3 of the 6 schools D was going to see were NOT in the Palmer. We also chose to stay in a different hotel- as we wanted a place to back away from all the stress. (and it was free with Husband’s hotel points, so that was a major factor too, anything to save a $ in this process!!) </p>
<p>We chose Chicago because it was longer and more schools seemed to be there. There are schools that start auditions on Saturday and many on Sunday. You can audition for five days and squeeze in a lot of auditions. The D had two auditions that were not in the Palmer, otherwise it was extremely convenient for her to be able to just go up and down the elevator for auditions while I worked and was unable to accompany her.</p>
<p>Anyone see any good Palmer House rates yet? I’ve booked already, but last year, it seems like people found $99 (regular) and $124 (executive) rates. </p>
<p>A couple of years ago when I booked that low rate for the executive floor at the Palmer House, the offer was in August/September time frame and the deal was you had to prepay the entire reservation up front. Being that was a few years ago, they have probably updated or changed the offers. I would recommend you just call the hotel directly and ask them and mention you know people who got that deal in years past.</p>
<p>Make sure to see if wireless is included or not – there is a charge for that. </p>
<p>If driving, remember to budget for parking. I believe the cost to self-park at the Palmer House (whose garage is actually a short block away) is about $40 and I think $70 to valet - per day! Re: Internet - I think it is $15 per day. You may check and see if Hilton Honors members get free internet access and if so, if you aren’t already a Hilton Honors member, go ahead and sign up!</p>
<p>I became a hilton honors member and just asked for free internet explaining mt D had to do homework while we were there and they gave it to us. I booked later than most and still got a great rate by calling the Palmer directly. I also asked if the had parking discounts. It never hurts to ask </p>
<p>I also understand that there is a group rate for the college auditions. I remember them using that term when I made reservations last year. I got a package deal that included free internet AND breakfast if you ate from the buffet. Upon arrival they gave me a free breakfast card for each day. You can just call and ask if they have any packages that include that. I called periodically to see if I could do better than the deal before. :)</p>
<p>Also check flight + hotel rates if you are flying. We are HH Members, so got a really good rate & used points, but a friend traveling with us got a great deal through Southwest booking their flight and hotel room together.</p>
<p>Anyone know where Pace is having its auditions in Chicago?</p>
<p>Hello, all. I didn’t want to start a new thread, but was wondering if anyone that went to Unifieds (Chicago) in the past know if the audition slots are all on time? And also, do CCM and CMU really make you block out 2-4 hours? Thanks!</p>
<p>I am sure it varies by school- but all of my D’s auditions (and she did 6 there) were on schedule. 2-4 hours blocks are VERY common during unified- some are even longer. I know that there were kids who had time overlaps (in one case b/c of a “callback”) and schools tended to be understanding. What we found was that D could have 2 “scheduled” auditions a day- morning and afternoon. Lots of people used “between” times for walk ins- D was not into that. Bear in mind- that while there are large #s of schools at the Palmer House for “official” unified - some schools are offsite (D had 3 of those last year, NYU, BU and Syracuse) so you have to build in “travel” time</p>
<p>Are there places to change at the Palmer house for those not staying there? Or do the kids squeeze into the bathroom stalls?</p>
<p>That is a great question. I look forward to the answer on that one! And as far as CCM, it seems they charge a $100 fee for any appointment changes. Just like the airlines! </p>