Students who haven’t been planning for as long as Parker still have time to witness the inauguration. Hotel rooms are still available near the city, said Rebecca Pawlowski, director of communications for Destination D.C., a nonprofit Washington, D.C., tourism organization.

“As of Jan. 5, there were 600 rooms in the city that were still available,” she said. “And if you look at hotels up to 200 miles away, there were about 12,000 rooms available.”

If students have friends or family in the area to stay with, that’s the way to go, Pawlowski said.

“For the price of a couple MSU sweatshirts, we get a place to stay for the three nights we’re there,” Parker said.

Networking is very important to remember when planning an inauguration trip, said political science senior Nic Clark, an intern for Obama’s Campaign for Change.

“We’re really fortunate,” he said. “In our group … everyone knows someone else. They’re like, ‘Oh, we can do this, because I know this person.’”

The public areas to view the swearing-in ceremony and parade are first come, first served, so the best way to guarantee a spot on the National Mall or along the parade route is to show up early, said Shin Inouye, a spokesman for the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

“The general sentiment is if you’re going to go the parade, you’re not going to make it to ?the swearing-in, and vice versa, just because getting around ?is going to be so difficult,” he said.

Inauguration attendees should review a list of prohibited items, available at inaugural.senate.gov, before arriving, Inouye said.

Mid-January is typically still cold in Washington, D.C., so dressing for the weather is key to the planning process, Inouye said.

“We definitely anticipate ?that it’s going to be really cold, but ?the way I look at it, it’s just ?part of the experience,” Parker said.