Always have your student join the frequent flier program for whatever airline they are on. In event of trouble with the flight, members are helped first.
You do not have to go with them for move in. You can put them on a plane with 2 suitcases and a carry on and ship or buy online anything else that is needed. They will survive.
I also recommend Southwest if possible. You get two free checked bags. Then go ahead and pay for two more to schlep stuff to/from.
Also, is there a family member nearby to whom you can send big stuff prior to the college move: bedding, pillows, etc? Buy stuff Amazon and have them shipped to him/her. If in a major urban area for college (LA, Denver, etc.) don’t be afraid to wait until you are in town. Surely a Bed-Bath-and Beyond or Target or Walmart nearby will have bedding, kitchen stuff you need. Don’t be too rushed to have it “all settled” before you arrive at College Town - you never know what you might need/not need.
If you fly and rent a car, try for a small SUV (CRV or something). Those purchases you make in town will take a lot of space and might not fit in a rented compact.
Like others, endorse booking travel during those busy travel times in advance. Again highly recommend Southwest, if they fly where you are going, as there is no downside to booking early and changing later - no change fees, only the difference between what you paid and the new flight should you realize the flight you purchased has to be earlier or later.
Finally, mid-year start thinking about what-all you have to get home, get rid of, or store before May or June when student comes home. Spring Break: pack a big suitcase with some things student no longer needs in college so there is less to worry about two months later when they come home. Are there friends who live local to the college with whom they can leave things? Will the family member nearby take a box or two? Is there a storage locker near the college where you can store something for a couple of months until school starts again? Another student at the college who you can go in with on a storage locker to save $?
Other thoughts:
- have kid sign the HIPPA form…to allow access to medical records. When my kid was injured and in the U’s health center and staff debating sending her to hospital, I was able to converse with doctor and nurses because of signed form…which helped ME a bit, since I was 2000 miles away.
-Find out city ordinances and state laws regarding alcohol/pot consumption/possession by minors. Getting caught driving with pot/paraphernalia in some states will land you in jail overnight. Underage drinking/minor in possession in some conservative states can also be quite punitive.
Also, know the rights one has when the campus police come knocking at your door, or the legal risks you take just by going to a frat party (even if you don’t drink). Learn the school codes (each is different!) so your rights trampled on, but also so you don’t go trampling on the rules, regulations and laws.
Student should also know what to do in the event they get arrested. What to say/not say, who to call, the number of your attorney, etc.
If you need to ship stuff to college, befriend an airline employee. They usually get incredible discounts from Fedex.
Wish them well, but tell them you’d like a weekly “hearbeat call” (or Skype session) - in retrospect, I wish I had insisted on that. If they send text messages and email in between…all the better.
Per packing, less is more. It’s so easy to order things online that it pays to pack lean.
Give your child the minimalist book that is the craze now (Marie Kondo). No one needs 4 bags of stuff for college. My daughter took a ton, including her hockey gear. At least 2 bags came back after a few weeks. When she went back as a sophomore, 2 bags plus the hockey bag. Senior year? One bag.
Her sister was a minimalist from day one and even she cut way down by the time she was a senior.
Great suggestions here. All 3 of mine attended college across country. So many people asked me for advice that I created a 5 page list of suggestions and ideas. If anyone would like a copy, feel free to pm me with your email address.
We usually drive them and there stuff for freshmen move in, so we can attend the parent orientation part. After that, we book their Thanksgiving flight home very early (usually just book them based off the last day of classes) and I recommend that for Easter break too because the flights are pretty expensive, if they are too high I book with points.
I always check where the nearest pharmacy and hospital are. I find most insurance plans allow college students to use out of network pharmacies,labs and hospital services for the same in network prices, if they are so many miles away from home.
After the first year we usually have them fly in on their own and once they find dorms that need kitchen stuff we buy on line and send the goods to their school mailroom. That seems to save us a far amount money.
Lastly, I found it is much cheaper for your student to find a storage unit near school to store their stuff in. My daughter usually found 3 other friends to split the cost among the 3 of them for the summer. Most of my daughter’s friends have cars so they help each other move in and out of their dorms and storage units.
When they move out of college after graduation, they can ship books home (or wherever) cheaply via USPS book rate. BUT — I’d suggest you look in the box and confirm that they are precisely following the book rate rules. If not and USPS finds out, it costs a LOT to get your box back. ?
I second that, @intparent. I made sure kid had only printed material in her book ? box.
@BunsenBurner Well, I SHOULD have checked. 
Both D’s did not come home for Thanksgiving. Both one-two flights away. They had 4 days total. Worked out fine. Send cookies, snacks to them in the dorms and tell them to share with roommate and down the hall.
Start using the credit card for the carrier that offers the most flights to the area your student will be traveling to. Rack up those points!
If your student won’t be taking a car to college, register with Zipcar. Many campuses have it, the cars are right on campus and can be rented for short time periods if needed.
Make sure your child knows what to do if the flight is cancelled, diverted to another city, etc. How to book, change reservations, and have the airline app on his/her phone. Both Avis and Hertz do rent to drivers age 18 (certain cars only, and with a hefty daily premium) if the situation arises.
Well…here is my son’s advice about the “college stuff”.
Put everything you think you need in one room…like the living room. Then only take 1/2 of what you have there with you to college. You probably will only use 1/2 of what you take even with that.
We wouldn’t have needed four suitcases if we hadn’t been taking bed linens and towels.
You would have driven 3000 miles across country to attend orientation?
+1 on the summer storage. One of the best things about a kid far away was NOT schlepping the stuff home every summer only to schlep it back in the fall. Kid rented a storage unit with climate control…a must…with friends, and they put all of their stuff in that for the summer.
Only flew home with a suitcase.
Any tips for girls that love clothing, shoes, accessories & makeup??
We visited and witnessed how casual the students dress on campus, but my fashion-loving D is still insisting on needing her entire wardrobe of heels, dresses, and fashion-forward accessories. She’s crazy! (In a wonderful way, of course 
) Any advice from those parents that have dealt with this?
Tell her to take a look at the size of the rooms and closet. 