Bittersweet. That’s how Anne Benoit of Amherst, N.H. described watching her youngest child move her belongings into the College of Charleston’s McAlister Hall on Saturday, more than 900 miles from home. “She’s my baby,” Benoit said. “I’m excited for her, but I’m sad to see her go.”

Benoit’s daughter Katherine is one of about 2,100 freshmen students who comprise the college’s class of 2017.