Not sure whether this should have gone in a technical issues forum or in here...I assume it's a bug, but maybe I've just done something wrong.

I'm supposed to meet Tolfdir outside Saarthal in the mage guild questline, but neither Tolfdir nor any of the other students are anywhere to be found at the quest marker. I've gone to Saarthal, waited multiple times (an hour, five hours, 24 hours, doesn't seem to matter). I've tried traveling back to the College of Winterhold, going in and out of the Hall of the Elements, then fast traveling back to Saarthal like the wiki recommends -- nothing. I've tried to setstage the quest to 25 -- this does bring up the objective "Find Ariel Gane", but without the key to the damn place, I can't go inside to find Ariel.

Help please?

edit: Nevermind. Did the fast travel thing a second time, and for whatever reason, this time it worked. Thanks for reading, and this post can be deleted mods.

Try

Prid 1c1a1
moveto player

In front of the door, by loading up a save before you have setstage to 25.

Tolfidir should now stand next to you and you should be able to walk in to Saarthal together.

The NPCs actually walk there. Same when you dismiss a follower, they will walk back to their home. Sometimes they seem to get stuck on a rock or something and never return home (or in this case, to Saarthal). Ji Soo's suggestion of using moveto should work. You can also player.moveto [NPC number] to move yourself to where they are, which is often some rock in the middle of nowhere.