I can't remember the exact path to get to them, but you can remove the occult states of the townies that have already moved in if you are interested with Master Controller.
About university - you've given me an idea I've never done before. I also enjoyed how I could send a lot of kids to uni in TS2 and was disappointed I couldn't do it the same way here, but I think I may try moving them all out into a lot and then send them all together. I do something somewhat similar in my games with a "retirement home", where if there are elders who live alone I will sometimes put them all in a large house to make room for families in the home they leave.
I've tried playing through the university a few times, but the gameplay has been pretty non-compelling for me and the benefits not enough for me to take the time away from my normal rotational neighborhood, so I frequently skip it.
