NYC on a student budget

Hi all!

My friend and I will be visiting next week for spring break, and I would love any suggestions on how to see as many shows as possible on as tight a budget as possible. We've already bought tickets to Anything Goes through HipTix, and we're basically going to try to student rush every show we plan on seeing (by the way, how realistic of a possibility is this?). Are there any other lesser-known methods outside of the TKTS booth to get reduced tickets? And which shows (both broadway and off-broadway) should be at the top of my list?
Also, are there rush tickets for previews? I would really love to see Once.

Thanks so much for the help!

Get. Up. Early. I mean, for shows you know will be doing lotto, you don't want to get there at 9 if it starts at 10. It's a lotto, so time won't effect it.
For rush/sro, definitely don't stay together. Let's say you for sure want to see BOM. Getting SRO tickets to that isn't impossbile. I got there, say a little before 10 one of the days leading up to thanksgiving and was fine. But if it's for a show you know you might not get into, split up and go into the line for one show and have someone else in a line for another.
As for TKTS - yes, they offer some great prices and a lot of shows in one place...however...it's a major, major wait. And it's really hard to tell what shows will be on the board that day so don't cross your fingers.
Sometimes it will be 10 minutes (rare) or it will be an hour. It's unpredictable and if you do Rush, Standing Room or TKTS, you do not want to have reservations. Try not to do SRO and then see a show later. (I did SRO for BOM, had dinner and then saw AGoes...let's just say I apologize to the performers...totally fell asleep . Felt really bad)

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This usually gives me all the information I need for student rush:
http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/82428-Broadway-Rush-Lottery-and-Standing-Room-Only-Policies

EDIT: givesmevoice, I think you posted right before me!

Updated On: 2/22/12 at 07:47 PM

Thanks so much for all the information! So does Once have rush tickets for previews? Or is the information posted only for when it opens?

-Don't bother with lottos or tkts
-Student rushes are usually easier than general rushes
-Morning rushes are generally easier than "2 hrs before curtain" rushes since you have a better idea of what time other people get there
-Standing Room isn't as tiring as you'd expect

Non-theater:
-Eating in places without waiter service will save you a lot of money on tips
-If you want to eat a big meal, go to a restaurant with a cheap price fixe lunch. I recommend Bangkok House. It's less than $10 including tax and tip, and you won't need to eat much for the rest of the day.
-Mee on 53rd and 9th has good, cheap Chinese food
-There are a lot of places that have $1 pizza. My favorite is 2 Bros on 38th and 8th
-The Columbus Circle mall and the Marriot Marquee have clean public restrooms. Both are upstairs
-The letter grades in restaurant windows are given by health inspectors and reflect the level of cleanliness on a particular day. "Grade Pending" can mean anything from a "B" that wants an "A" to a failure that wants a "C"

Also, and most important... explore more of the city than just Midtown. You get your theatre tix at 10 AM, and don't have to be back at the theatre until USUALLY 8 pm. That gives you ALL day to explore... so DO IT! There is MUCH to see.

Check out some museums: The Museum of Natural History, Guggenheim, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MOMA... MANY are PWYC.

The New Museum in the Lower East Side is pretty great, and the Tenement Museum is my favorite in the city.

http://www.ny.com/museums/all.museums.html

Explore the east village! Start at union square, and walk around! The Life Cafe is a great stop if you're a renthead, but there are TONS of amazing cafes, vintage stores, restaurants, used book stores (STRAND books!) and much more in the East Village.

The Lower East Side has lots of cafes, shopping, art galleries, etc. Soho is more expensive for clothing stores, but more sheek stuff than the high-end stores of 5th ave.

FINALLY, if you are gonna spend alot of $$ on ONE show... see SLEEP NO MORE. nothing like you have ever, or will ever experience.