Thousands of high school grads are calling Abilene their new home and many of them were on the campus of Abilene Christian University to move in for the coming year.

School officially starts next week but New Student Orientation and Welcome Week for the three Abilene Universities begin this week.

The week was kicked off Saturday with one of ACU's biggest freshman classes moving into various dorms across campus.

The process was assisted by Welcome Week volunteers that gave up their Saturday to greet new students.

"Well we don't know these kids of course but we are students currently so we know what they're going through. We just want to make this the best first time for them." Volunteer Bobby Holden said.

Parents and movers were expecting rain but were fortunate to dodge the drizzle and keep their boxes dry.

Groups were on campus as early as 8:00am and the move in process continued throughout the day.

New Student Orientation and Welcome Week doesn't officially start until the middle of the coming week, it's a process getting ready for year to begin.