For those who are arriving independently

One of the great things about China is that it is so cheap if you know how to keep it cheap. I don't know about you guys but I plan on staying away from any restaurants that speak English or advertise for tourists because they will probably be many times more expensive than other places. Same thing goes for transportation. We are expected to take the taxi from PuDong airport to the dorms, but after some research, there are two ways to go that are much less costly and much more adventurous.

1. Subway-

Route 3: Metro Line 2 To EastNanjing Road stop, transfer to Metro Line 10. get off at Guoquan Road. Then you can take a taxi the rest of the way or walk about 15 mins.
Metro’s Fee: 8 RMB
Taxi’s Fee: ~12 RMB (15 RMB after 23:00pm)

2. Bus

Take the airport line #4 and get off at Lu Xun Park or WuJiaoChang. Then you have to walk about 15 mins again.

I know you said you were arriving early -- I don't know if you've already gotten a hotel, but superfuture's Shanghai guide suggests the Hengshan Picardie Hotel (hengshanhotel.com at 534 henghsan lu) as the best cheap hotel.

thanks! i actually got lucky and was able to just move in to tonghe. 95 kuai for the night!!