I use pods (unscented) and cold water for all my laundry. It seems to work ok for us.
Please note that “cold” setting on washing machines varies greatly. On some, it means no heat will be applied to the cold water of ANY temp that is coming into the machine. On others, like mine, it means the water will be brought up to at least a certain temp no matter what the input water temp is. The “no heat” on my Miele means just that - the washer will not heat. “Cold” means wash at least a certain temp, which might be sufficient to dissolve a pod.
Other than the pods, I heard liquid and powder detergents are not that experience and work well. I suppose a person striving to get a college degree can manage to measure a scoop. 
My boys complained of the pods leaving streaks or clumps of detergent on their clothing so they shifted to Tide liquid in the 50 ounce bottles so that they are easier to transport.
I rarely use the dryer at home but they had to at college.
That comment about being about to wear the same clothes more than once got me. Shirts and underwear??? No way- it gets dirty. Of course, I guess , per H, that after several days that underwear becomes usable again.
“Cold” water depends on where you live. Groundwater in Florida may be 72 degrees while it is 55 in Wisconsin.
Somehow I can’t see where mechanical rubbing is good for clothes or how oil and water mix without chemicals…
My mother taught me how to do laundry with lights/darks… But who is going to waste their time with a couple of small loads instead of that big one when there are no more items left to wear? Time and money. No fashionistas in our house.
My D had top loading washers in the dorm. She used pods or liquid detergent.
At home I have a frontloading washer and I don’t use pods because they get caught in the rubber gasket in the door and don’t dissolve completely.
Jeans, t-shirts, socks, underwear and towels are fine washed with regular detergent and dried in the dryer.
Dress shirts and sweaters I wash on delicate and dry hanging up or laying flat.
I plan on sending mostly easy to care items to school with my son.
My daughter did take a small folding drying rack to school – I think she hung bras on it to dry, rather then putting them through the dryer.
We use liquid detergent at home, but bought Tide Pods for the dorm. But D had a pod fail, with the pods streaking and staining a favorite pair of shorts. Back to liquid!
Wis, I was not talking about underwear. I was talking about clothes. 
Sweaters and jeans do not need to be rewashed after being worn only once, unless one is digging a trench or doing some similarly dirty job. Saves water, time, detergent, money, and the planet.
One of my guys discovered while dropping some shirts to be dry cleaned that his cleaners did laundry. He had to plug a bajillion coins into the dirty bad washer and a fortune to dry in his off campus Apartment so never did laundry again during college. Dropped it off and picked it up. Wash and fold. I think he said it ran about a buck a pound and was about the same price over the long haul as plugging coins.
We talked about laundry options at UCB in this thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-berkeley/2088643-laundry-service-available.html
I sent my D to school with pods (not sure why - we use liquid at home) and she quickly realized they didn’t work that well. She also realized that at 18, she was capable of pouring laundry detergent from a bottle, into the measuring cap, and into the machine.
@momofthreeboys, my D does the same thing. She’s older but moved to a studio apartment with no laundry facilities. She drops off her laundry now. Thinks it’s the greatest invention ever. She found she needed more workout clothes as those need to be washed every time but other than that, it’s been perfect for her.
We have never had issues with the pods, and we use all of the different temperatures depending on what we are washing. We just throw it into the washer’s bin and let the water pour in over it. I doubt they work as well if they are put into one of the dispenser things.
My third had free laundry in the dorm. That helps and the kids don’t need to keep a fortune in coins cause they don’t use cash more much of anything these days. It is when they move off campus you can have a dilemma. The second place one of my kids lived in the landlord had a pay washer and pay dryer and the dryer didn’t dry at all just tumbled the clothes. That is the one who found drop off laundry.
My mother who MAILED her laundry home when she was in college (look up Kwik pack it was a thing in the 50’s) insisted on paying for laundry service for my kids when they were in college. It was picked up,in their dorm and brought back 2 days later. They both managed fine when they did study abroad with no service tho and my nursing student kid still does her own scrubs because she doesn’t want to send those out.
Of course jeans and such go several wearings between washings. My rule of thumb even now is to wash things when I do the weekly load or they won’t get done until the next time. Back in college it was less frequent. Send your kids with two weeks of clothing so they can have flexibility when life is busy (eg exam weeks). They should not expect to do laundry with the same frequency as at home- no adding a few things to the family load… I can’t imagine having clothes unavailable for two days.
I have started using All Mighty Pacs in my own laundry - I needed something fragrance free since I can’t stand perfumes on my clothes. I have a basic top loader, and wash everything in cold. So far so good, and I’m sending the same thing with my daughter.
The directions state to put the pac into the drum first. I do that, start the water and then add clothes on top of it. I only use one per load.
Maybe I am dense, but why would anyone use pods unless traveling? Pouring a liquid into a cap is not difficult and am guessing pods cost more.
@“great lakes mom” it’s a detergent, stain remover, and brightener all in one. Sort of the same concept of why you’d use a 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner rather than separate products.
@“great lakes mom” it is all about personal preference, just like choosing between liquid and powder. I personally prefer the pods. It is less mess and may end up being cheaper in the long run. I have my son and my husband in the household with me. We all do laundry. I am not sure I can trust them to adjust the amount of liquid based on the load size. And, we would all spill liquid from time to time. Maybe it would get wiped up, maybe not. Pods are quick, easy, and not overly expensive.