Would it be a smart idea to get a less expensive hotel in NJ while looking at colleges in NYC?

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1

I’m a junior in high school and next year I am going to be visiting colleges. All of my college choices are in New York City. I love six hours away from New York. My parents aren’t very involved in the college aspect of my life because I want to be an actress and they do not support that. Since I want to go to a college for acting I would need to audition first and I was going to try and get all of my auditions right near each other which I’ve checked the dates and I think I can spread them out in 3 days. I would have to stay in the city though because going back and forth would be even more expensive.

I’ve checked New York City hotels and one night is like $100 something for a four star hotel and that is a lot for three nights. Since I’ll be paying for college I’ll have to save as much as I can. I’ve notice New Jersey is less expensive than New York and I was thinking would it work if I took a greyhound to New Jersey and get a hotel there for three nights and take a cab into New York City.

I would take a cab from the hotel straight to the audition than after the audition walk around New York a bit just to get used to it than another cab back. Or if I had more than one audition in a day a cab to one audition, than the next, explore a bit, go back to the hotel. I would look for a hotel as close to the borderline that separates New York and New Jersey as I can get. Does this sound like a good idea? Or are cabs so expensive? I would have had to use cabs anyway if I got a hotel in New York so I feel as if the money I save from not getting a hotel in New York could go towards the cabs I would have had to take anyway.

2

Which schools in NYC? They’re pretty spread out, depending on which ones you want.

Take a look at the school sites-- most mention some nearby hotels.

3

I can’t tell from your post, are you going by yourself? If so, you won’t be able to rent a hotel room because of your age.

4

How are you going to pay for college? You think you get cabs in the city when you are on a budget? Who is paying for your plane ticket?

5

Also, I would be careful of $100 something a night in Manhattan. My guess is that at that price, they’re probably not in great neighborhoods.

I just went to hotels.com and looked at hotels near NYU— I’m seeing prices like $415, $420 for a random night in September.

6

I think it would work better to be on a subway line- try Brooklyn. This will be a lot more flexible for you. As bjkmom mentioned, don’t take the cheapest room. Example: there is an Aloft near the Brooklyn bridge listed at $159. This is a recognized brand, close to Manhattan, in a reasonable area, so is probably fine.

7

Forgot to mention, going back and forth to NJ in cabs will eat up a LOT of money. If you stay outside the city, try to find lodging near NJ transit or Metro north. Or find a hotel that provides shuttle service to a train station.

8 
          Have you looked at the subforum for your desired major? There is a lot of info from people who know a lot of the specifics. Luckily you are a junior and have some time to get to grips with the realities of the college process. Hotels for auditions are the least of the things you need to worry about at this point. Head over to the subforums and read up.
9

The cab to NY from NJ is $50 or more. So just stay in NY.

10

You might get lucky with airbnb near a ferry Weehawken ) or the path, but just getting from nj to nyc every day, even on public transportation, can quickly add up and make your cost savings evaporate. The suggestions above are helpful.