BrownSugar106

I'd really appreciate the advice of experience for Indiana audition travel logistics. Specifically:
1. Is there a hotel you recommend that is right near the audition space? I know there's the student union on campus that has a hotel but don't know how near it is to the audition space. Where did you stay, and would you recommend it, or was there something more convenient that you wished you would have known about?
2. Also, would you rent a car or take the shuttle bus to get from the airport to the hotel? What would you recommend?
3. Also, should we stay over for the night before AND the night of the audition? or is just the night before okay? In other words, how late do the auditions run and will we have have enough time to get back to the airport and make a flight home on the same day as the audition or should we plan on staying over that night and flying home the next morning?
4. Finally, is there an airline that you recommend that is most conveniently served at the Indiana airport?
Thanks so much!

NewbieMTMom

Dear BrownSugar106: My daughter currently attends Indiana U. but not for MT. The IU campus is fairly large but Bloomington is a big "small town." You can either stay at the hotel on campus or in the town of Bloomington. Holiday Inn Express is fairly nice as well as the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Bloomington. I have not stayed in the hotel on campus but I have been in the student union many times. That would not be my taste to stay there ... but it seems perfectly fine.

When we visit, we fly into Indianapolis from the east coast on Southwest -- very convenient, reliable and ontime and inexpensive to boot. Indianapolis Airport is a small airport so easy to get around in. We always rent a car ... so staying at the Hilton Garden Inn or Holiday Inn Express are options for hotels. If you take the Bloomington Shuttle (you can book online) from the airport, you should stay at the hotel on campus so you don't need a car. You can walk everywhere. There are several shuttle stops on campus.

We also often stay in downtown Indianapolis just because it's a nice small city -- we stay at a great Hilton Garden Inn that seems much grander than a Hilton Garden Inn and it is right in the heart of all of the activity downtown. It's actually really nice. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to shuttle back and forth from downtown to IU.

If you plan to visit IU on a "special" weekend like Homecoming or Parents Weekend, BEWARE -- the hotels sell out quickly VERY FAR in advance. You must book the hotels EARLY, EARLY, EARLY. There are many other hotels than the ones I've mentioned but these are the ones that I am most comfortable staying in.

Finally, the Grant Street Inn is the nicest of all ... a b&b that is very pricey.

Don't know about the audition process for MT as we will be doing it for the first time with my younger daughter. Someone else will have to answer.

My older daughter LOVES IU. It's a beautiful campus and coming from the east coast, the people in the midwest are amazingly friendly and warm.

Please feel free to ask any other questions or send me a private message if you wish.

WSHoos11

I'm an MT at Indiana University. The hotel in the Union is verynice, and it's down the stret from the Theater Center, so it's very convenient. There is also a shuttle bus that runs between the airport and the Union, but my parents have found it easier to just rent a car for visits.

To be safe, I would recommend flying in the night before your audition so your son/daughter has time to collect him or herself and for you all to familiarize yourselves with the campus and such before the big day. As far as staying the next night goes, I found it nice to stay on the campuses I auditioned at as long as possible to really get a feel for the students, faculty, campus, etc.

IU is a great place. People have a tendancy to fall in love with it when they visit. Best of luck to all of you.