Buckle up, Boulder.

No, really, securely fasten your seat belts because you soon will be idling in your Subaru, stuck behind droves of panicked families whose vision will be obstructed by stockpiles of ramen and room freshener piled higher than their rearview mirrors.

Move-in day at the University of Colorado is upon us again, and more than 6,000 students are expected to descend on Boulder for what likely will be a fantastic combination of the most and least memorable moments of their young lives.

The move-in schedule stretches from Sunday to Thursday, with a new organizational element of grouping students’ time slots by college and academic program. For more information on what days and times students are coming, visit living.colorado.edu/move-in-move-out.

The cars full of plastic hanging mirrors and bed-in-a-bags are asked to exit U.S. 36 at Foothills Parkway and enter the CU campus from either Baseline Road or Colorado Avenue, Boulder police said.

The busiest times are expected to be from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Campus parking permit holders, commuters and people using meters or pay stations can bet on snarled traffic and limited access to parking lots for a good portion of next week.

Hopefully, those affected have already made plans to park elsewhere because the deadline to fill out a “critical need” request to have a car on campus during move-in passed on Aug. 8.

Regent Drive will be restricted to vehicles displaying move-in permits from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The university suggests using a bus, bike, telecommuting services or vacation time to navigate the situation.

Most of the move-in traffic is likely to come from Denver on U.S. 36.

A pep rally is scheduled from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24, at Folsom Field for new students.

Chancellor Phil DiStefano will formally introduce students at a convocation event from 10:30 to 11 a.m. Aug. 25 at the Coors Event Center.

Elizabeth Hernandez: 303-473-1106, hernandeze@dailycamera.com, twitter.com/ehernandez