<p>When D was making audition plans, we had to be very cost-conscious. We narrowed it down to an East Coast trip (her top choices were all in that area) and the Chicago Unifieds and she did as many at the Unifieds as possible as long as they were schools that interested her. On the East Coast trip, she spent 10 days looking at schools and auditioning and took trains and buses from one site to the next (she went alone, we just could not afford both of us to go). She prepped over the holidays and did the auditions January-February so only missed couple of months of production opportunities. Her safety was a local U so that was no problem at all to fit in. One thing to consider is how your high school looks at these absences. Although D was number 1 in her class, and kept up with the work, the admin raised an eyebrow to the number of days missed (about 3 weeks total) and actually could have considered her truant and failed her for the six weeks. Still, that grading period was her highest GPA ever, she kept her class rank, and now attends her top choice school. One more thing, I don’t think D could have been a hotel guest alone if she was not already 18. Her birthday was the day the East Coast trip started. Good luck to all as the audition process begins!</p>