Fisher College Streamlines Student Move-In Day

September 1st in Boston is as infamous a day as Marathon Monday, except for all the wrong reasons. On the day when 70,000 students head back to school, you've got frustrated students, parents and neighbors, double parked cars, deadlocked traffic, and moving boxes all competing for space on the city's roads and sidewalks. 

Luckily for Back Bay residents, Fisher College on Beacon Street has found a way to streamline the move in process and alleviate neighborhood concerns. 

Instead of the "every-man-for-himself" strategy that occurs at many of the other Boston campuses, at Fisher, the college actually hires 20-30 professional movers to help their 800+ students unload their parents cars and get their minifridges, microwaves and TV sets up the stairs into their new dorm rooms. 

"We just decided it was worth the investment to be able to make move in day go faster," said Sheila Lally, dean of students at Fisher College. "We have a lot of neighbors who have multi-million dollar condos next door, and we want to minimize the disruption to the neighborhood if we can." 

But the professional movers are just one of the steps the college takes to tackle the ordeal of move-in day. First, campus security secures parking meters on their block of Beacon Street to free up any double parking issues. Students and parents pull right up to the curb and movers begin unloading belongings, then direct parents to the nearest parking garage.

"It takes about three to five minutes depending on how much stuff they have," said Lally. "It's a pretty well-oiled machine."

Lally said the college has been hiring movers for the last ten years and despite the service being costly, the end product is worth it to both students, parents and the neighborhood. 

"It's a stressful day and this helps take a load off," Lally said.