<p>We have a similar situation. S1 is a returning student so he talked with the housing office and they were very accommodating. They said that he can move in a couple of days early (he'll have to eat off campus). He just has to reconfirm the early move-in dates with them and they will charge him a small per night fee. It's an 8 hours drive to his school. We're very thankful for their understanding. S2 will be an incoming freshman at a school about a 3 1/2 hour drive from home.</p>
<p>I tend to think moving and getting necessities is my kids' responsibility. This is one area in their life I am not really involved in. More stuff in the beginning means even more stuff at the end of the year to move back anyway.</p>
<p>Here's what we did. We bought a RoofBag for our Toyota Rav4 and we packed everything in that one car. The kids didn't have storage crates, refrigerators, comfy desk chairs or any luxuries, but they had what they needed. </p>
<p>It went well.</p>