This weekend marked the big move students make each year from their hometowns to State College -- a move that has the ability to cause all kinds of problems in all kinds of areas.

According to State College police officers, this year was one of the most hectic move-in weekends ever.

"I thought it was particularly congested this year," said State College Police Department Sgt. John Wilson.

Wilson attributed traffic problems to the enormous amount of people trying to get to the same place at the same time.

He estimated there were as many as 45,000 people coming into town at a time, causing congestion to be "worse than a football weekend."

Heavy traffic was not the only problem facing movers.

Wilson said there were parking problems, as well as reports of thefts as people moved belongings into their new homes.

In an attempt to reduce the stress on the movers, Wilson said State College police officers relaxed parking enforcement during the weekend in order to give people enough time to move in.

For realtors, the weekend wasn't as problematic.

Not only did The Apartment Store, 444 E. College Ave., have no major problems, but leasing consultant Chris Walter said it turned out to be one of the best move-in weekends it ever had.

"This was probably the smoothest turnover we've had in years," Walter said. "Everything went great."

He said that in five days, a total of 622 apartments were vacated and moved into, all without great difficulty.

It was also a smooth weekend for Associated Realty Property Management, 456 E. Beaver Ave., which had people moving into more than 1,200 units this weekend, said Kris Holzwarth, property manager for Associated Realty.

"We didn't have long lines and everything was nice and steady," she said.

Holzwarth said the realty group's off-site key pick-up was an important factor in this weekend's success.

"It took away a lot of the downtown traffic," she said.

She also said the acquisition helped keep parking spaces open.