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A Big Apple education: Where to stay when it's time to say 'goodbye' and move the kids into their NYC dorms

The Empire Hotel is located on the Upper West Side, a convenient location if you're heading to the Juilliard School.

You're just getting around to cleaning up the remnants of the full-blown graduation bash and it feels like the big "move-in" day is eons away. But in actuality, you have just a couple of months left to buy a futon, pack up the car, and remind your soon-to-be freshman what's really going on college boys' minds. It's easy to leave hotel reservations 'til last minute, but the time to do it is now--orientation week is a field day for New York City hotels and rooms book up early and fast. Fortunately, we here at Oyster have done the leg-work and have found the best hotels near a handful of NYC colleges. So whether your pride-and-joy is Ivy League-bound or about to join the swarms of hipsters who make up the NYU student body, we have a hotel where you can stay as you move them in and say your goodbyes.

The Lucerne Hotel on the Upper West Side

Barnard College and Columbia University

Hotel: The Lucerne
Average Price: $240/night
Pearls: 3.5
Location: Upper West Side, New York City

On the relaxed, upscale Upper West Side, the 250-room Lucerne is within close proximity to Columbia University and its all-female sister school, Barnard College. The hotel offers small but classically styled, comfortable rooms (all renovated in April 2009), prompt, dedicated service, and is mere blocks from attractions like the Museum of Natural History and Central Park.
Other hotels nearby: Excelsior Hotel, Hotel Beacon

Fashion Institute of Technology

Hotel: Hotel Indigo
Average Price: $224/night
Pearls: 3
Location: Chelsea, New York City

Less than a five-minute walk from FIT, this 122-room boutique in midtown Manhattan is a full-service hotel in miniature, with plush rooms, excellent views, a gym, a business center, an elegant restaurant and lounge, and a 19th-floor rooftop bar. The 240-square-foot rooms are extraordinarily comfortable and well equipped.
Other hotels nearby: Four Points by Sheraton, Holiday Inn Express Chelsea

Fordham University

Hotel: Hudson Hotel
Average Price: $198/night
Pearls: 3.5
Location: Midtown West, New York City

Steps from Fordham University, Central Park, and five subway lines, the 807-room Hudson has a prime location. It's actually a remodeled Y.M.C.A. with very tiny rooms, but its amenities (a modern gym, business center, and four hip, see-and-be-seen bars) and surreal, Philippe Starck design make it worth the cramped space.
Other hotels nearby: 6 Columbus, Mandarin Oriental

Take in the view with appetizers and drinks at the Empire's Rooftop Bar.

Juilliard School

Hotel: The Empire Hotel
Average Price: $291/night
Pearls: 4
Location: Upper West Side, New York City

For the price, you'll be hard-pressed to find this level of on-site amenities at any other New York hotel--and with it's proximity to Julliard, it's the perfect pick for your stay during Freshman Orientation. The Empire's rooftop bar and pool, both with excellent views of the upscale Upper West Side, make this 420-room hotel one of the city's best values, despite the small rooms.
Other hotels nearby: Trump International Hotel and Tower, Mandarin Oriental

New York University

Hotel: The Standard
Average Price: $312/night
Pearls: 4
Location: West Village, New York City

Hovering above the High Line on concrete pillars, this one-of-a-kind Meatpacking District hotel offers 337 light-flooded, ultra-mod rooms with panoramic views of the city; one restaurant, several popular bars; and excellent service. It might just be the hippest hotel in New York City. It's close to NYU, but if you're looking to be steps from the center of campus, check out the Washington Square Hotel.
Other hotels nearby: Washington Square Hotel, Hotel Gansevoort

Lobby at the W Hotel New York- Union Square

Parsons School of Design

Hotel: W New York - Union Square
Average Price: $379/night
Pearls: 4
Location: Gramercy and Murray Hill, New York City

W Hotels' 270-room Union Square property greatly resembles other W's in New York: comfortable beds, modern rooms, an excellent gym, and plenty of business travelers in the butterfly-decorated, techno-soundtracked lobby. The difference: this one's downtown, near the bar-filled East Village and media-mecca Flatiron -- which means street noise -- but you are conveniently close to Parsons.
Other hotels nearby: Gramercy Park Hotel, Union Square Hotel