Hello! My daughter will be attending the University of Virginia and will be in Hancock dorm. There is no AC and the building next door will be under construction, so it possibly could be more dusty outside than normal. I have heard that students often put two box fans in the large window which is 45" wide and can fit two box fans (one facing in, one facing out). My question is: do the kids actually put them inside the window, and if so, how do the fans stay put (and also how do they keep bugs out, if there are gaps)? Do people duct tape them in? And if they’re in the window, how do kids turn on the fans since box fans usually have the controls on top? Or do kids have some sort of shelf in front of the window, and place the fans on that? I want to make sure we buy the right stuff for her dorm. (We are from out of state and will be shipping/ buying ahead most of her items, so we need to know these things in advance, if possible.) Thanks for any advice! 
My advice isn’t specific to UVa. but typically, yes, students place them in the window, resting the sash on the top of the box fan to keep them in place. I would assume the windows have screens on them to keep bugs out. You’d use the fan inside the room, inside of the window screen.
Done all the time at colleges everywhere. Also consider an oscillating fan to move air around in the room.
My D’s dorm also does not have AC. She has one box fan for the window and has a tall, stand up oscillating fan for inside the room.
If you have a box fan in the window you don’t need an oscillating fan. The box fan works a LOT better to cool down the room at night.
The arrangement shown by doschicos is what I have in my bedroom. If, by some chance, the dorm has the narrow, crank-style window, you can get a narrow fan of the type that can be installed horizontally or vertically. They come with attachments to screw into the frame, but if that is out of the question you can use duct tape. That’s what we did when S was at CTY in an un-airconditioned dorm several summers. It’s not attractive, but they won’t need it all year.
There are also fans that are made for windows, usually with dual fans and you can reverse the direction of the fans. You use the window sash to close to the top, and there are slides that go to each side.
My memory is that in the old dorms, the fans can easily sit in the window sill, which is deep and large. You don’t need tape and you don’t need to close the window sill. The screens are strong.
I have lived in many antique houses with no AC and horrible insulation. If you can use a box fan (or any fan) to blow the cooler night air in, and another to blow the hot room air out, you will be a lot more comfortable.
Cville can be brutal during the day in August/Sept but does cool pretty well at night. A fan would be a life-saver as bricks also are great heatsinks until about 2am.
You can get two of the 20" Lasco box fans and point one blowing into the room and one blowing out. I saw the fans for $16 each at Home Depot yesterday. You close the window on to the fan and the top handle keeps it in place. Don’t sweat bringing everything on move in day. There are all the usual sprawl box stores in Charlottesville.