Students moving into on campus residence halls Saturday relied not only on family members to help unpack cars or transport boxes. More than 600 student volunteers and University President Steven Knapp were also on hand to help students settle into freshman residence halls.

Knapp and his wife Diane helped students move into residence halls, including Thurston Hall, Potomac House, Ivory Tower and various buildings on the Mount Vernon Campus.

“Move-in is going great … We’ve been to four or five dorms, meeting people and carrying boxes,” Knapp said during an interview at Mount Vernon.

He continued, “It was a way to see how move-in goes firsthand and it gives me a chance to meet a lot of families in all the classes.”

Between 4,000 and 5,000 people moved in on Saturday, said Seth Weinshel, director of GW Housing.

“We’ve had no lines. People on campus pull up, volunteers are helping them to unload and make move-in a spectacular day for everybody,” Weinshel said.

Like Knapp, Weinshel did not just sit back and watch the arrival to GW of close to half of the student body.

“Seth was super. This has been a great procedure,” said mother Roxanne Bjerk.

Twice as many student volunteers helped out this year compared to last. Volunteers greeted families, gave directions and helped students lug their boxes up to their rooms. The 600 student volunteers were able to move into GW housing early at no cost.

Students said move-in was quicker and more efficient this year.

“There was such a difference compared to moving into Thurston last year with its elevator line that wrapped around the building,” sophomore Lindsay Chester said.

Students in need of additional assistance could pay $100 to use GW Spirit Program’s Colonial Bellhop Service. GW cheerleaders and dancers moved boxes from curbside to a room in an average of 11 minutes.

The money raised will go towards the cost of attending the cheer and dance national competitions in Florida during the spring semester.

This was the second year that students could check-in to their rooms online. Computers were available for students who did not check-in at home.

“It is going much simpler and easier than we thought. It was not the stressful college move-in experience that I remembered,” said Andrea Anderson, mother of freshman Colby Anderson. “Everybody was friendly and so organized and the people, the volunteers, were the biggest help.”