<p>cbs, I can understand how living at Water St. would make for a longer commute. My D is there this year. 
I guess what threw me was the 45 minute subway ride comment! It makes sense that someone might have to leave more time to get to and from Water St., and I’m not positive where Meisner is but even at that, an hour sounds like it would provide a lot more than enough time. Some kids are like that, though, and like to be early for everything, my D being one of them.</p>
<p>theatredivasmom, just a comment on looking for non-NYU housing. You may already know this but I’ll mention it here for others’ benefit, too. Once you’re out of NYU housing, it is difficult to get back in. You will lose your priority in the housing lottery, even if you do get back in. This is why it is rare for NYU students to look for alternate housing, even for sophomore year, which is the ‘worst’ year for the lottery. My D had a friend who considered doing it for this year so my D helped her look at places last spring. Both dads also were lawyers (funny coincidence) and the friend had a family friend who was a broker. The apartments they looked at were smaller and not as nice as NYU apartments, and not any more conveniently located. To make it financially worthwhile, and to find something which was safe and not vermin-ridden, they would have had to go to Brooklyn or Queens, which obviously would have defeated the point of trying to be closer. New York apartments are much smaller than anywhere else in the country, generally speaking, and finding one that you’d actually want to live in either in the East Village, and especially in Union Square, is not an easy task. Good luck!</p>