If you are able to visit the campus before moving day, go investigate. Check out parking availability near your building. Go into the dorm and check for stairs and elevators to help determine how difficult your move will be. If you will be living on the fifth floor of a dorm without elevators, you will know to pack lots of small, light boxes. If you will be living on the first floor or there are elevators, you know you can pack a few large, heavy boxes.
Talk to a residence assistant or a student-life counselor to ask any questions you may have about what you can bring into the dorm. Some schools allow extra furniture and small appliances; others ask that you leave those items at home. You do not want to have three family members help you drag a couch up four flights of stairs only to find out that it will not fit or is not allowed.
Keep an eye on the weather. In most cases, you will have about a week to get settled into the doom before classes start. If you see that it will be raining early in the week, wait until later in the week for a smoother moving experience.
The day of the move, visit your room empty-handed or with just a small box. See if your roommate has arrived and introduce yourself. Tell her which extra items you have brought and look around to see what she already has in the room. If she already has a microwave, you can save yourself the trouble of carrying yours up. Arrange the furniture with your roommate before carrying all your other stuff inside as well. It is easier to move furniture in an empty room.
If your roommate is not there yet, try to find out when he will arrive. Nothing gets a school year off on the wrong foot more than one roommate moving in first and taking over the entire room. Be sure to take no more than half of the drawer, closet and shelf space for your stuff. If you really want to start off on a good note, make an effort to leave your roommate more space than you take for yourself. This gesture will not go unnoticed.
Get as many family members and friends as possible to help get your stuff moved into the room quickly---and then kindly ask them to leave. You need some time to get settled into the room and meet people. If your family stays all day, it will hinder your ability to get things done and get acquainted.