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Mail Services
Division of Administration
  2. Students
  3. Move In Info
  4. First-Year Students

First-Year Students

2021 First-Year Move-In Information

Mail Services processes all incoming mail and packages for students, faculty, staff, and departments. Presented below is information you need to know before mailing or shipping items to campus. If you would like to purchase items locally for move-in instead of shipping items, there is the Green Hills Mall, Walmart, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Vanderbilt bookstore near campus.

 

Special Instructions for Packages Sent to Fall 2021 First-Year Students Moving in on Saturday August 21st

  • We recommend shipping packages for the move-in weekend  via UPS Ground or FedEx Ground ONLY. Other carriers will be accepted.
  • Please do not ship packages prior to August 6th, 2021.
  • We recommend not using Home Depot, Lowes or U-Haul boxes, as they do not hold up well! Tape excessively!
  • Package all items securely and add extra protection for fragile items.  Use filler for empty space in boxes to avoid breakage or causing the box to collapse. Packages should not weigh more than 50 pounds, unless one single item.
  • Using the Address Format below, the student’s full given proper name and the campus address should be clearly marked on all packages. DO NOT ADDRESS PACKAGES TO A RESIDENCE HALL.  Packages should be numbered (for example, 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3, Etc) if shipping multiple packages.
  • You will receive an email for each package received in your name, it will also contain the tracking number. All packages for students moving in on Saturday August 21st will be in the Mail Services tent.
  • Please use shipping boxes that your student will be able to carry/handle.
  • We recommend insuring packages for the value of the contents. UPS and Fed Ex Ground insure each package for up to $100 and provide a tracking number for each package free of charge. Please note the tracking number for each package and bring tracking numbers to package pick-up for confirmation of delivery.

 

STUDENTS MUST PRESENT THEIR MOBILE CREDENTIALS/COMMODORE CARD TO CLAIM PACKAGES AT THE MOVE-IN TENT.

 

Picking Up Packages during Move-in:  

Packages shipped to Vanderbilt for first-year students on/after August 6th, 2021 will be ready for pickup at the Martha Rivers Ingram Commons Lawn Mail Services/Bookstore Tent beginning:

 

  • Saturday, August 21st, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

 

Assistance with transporting packages to residence halls will be provided until 12:00 noon on Saturday, August 21st only, by the move crew. Hand trucks are available on a first come basis at the tent. The Mail Services/Bookstore tent is located on the lawn just outside of the Stambaugh Dorm, facing the Commons Center. 

Any packages remaining after 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 21st will be transferred to the Station B Post Office at Rand Hall, approximately 1 mile from the Martha Rivers Ingram Commons.  We will be open Sunday at Station B & the Temporary location located in the garage of the Student Life Center (adjoins Branscomb off Vanderbilt Place) from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.  Packages shipped in for move-in (up to August 21st) and have not been picked up by August 22nd, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. are subject to be returned to sender without further notice.

 

General Information

Mailing Instructions †   All undergraduate students’ campus virtual mailboxes are located at Station B Post Office, in the lower level of Rand Hall.  Therefore, all mail and packages—whether sent via the United States Postal Service, UPS, DHL, FedEx, or any other carrier—must be sent to your Vanderbilt Post Office address. Mail and packages should never be addressed to students’ residence halls. Once move-in is completed, all mail and packages will be picked up from the Main Post Office (Station B) located in Rand Hall. We offer a USPS retail counter for mailing domestic or International mail/packages. We have 7 mail/package pickup windows and 500 automated parcel/package lockers.

 

Address Format †  Your Private Mail Box number may be obtained going to our webpage www.vanderbilt.edu/mailservices and on the right side of the main page click on "Mail Forwarding/Address Information".  Login and authenticate yourself, you will see a "Mailbox forwarding page". Look for "Box assignment", this will be your 4 digit Private Mailbox Number (PMB) for the shipping of all mail and packages while at Vanderbilt. You do not have to add the "B" at the end of the 4 digit number. DO NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES ON THIS PAGE! This is only for identifying your PMB number. All packages should be addressed to the student’s PMB Address as formatted/shown below:

 

John Doe (Student Name)

PMB 35XXXX (XXXX = your assigned 4-digit PMB number)

2301 Vanderbilt Place

Nashville, TN 37235-XXXX (X = your assigned 4-digit PMB number)

If you have trouble getting your PMB number or have other questions, please call our office at 615-322-2934 or email stationbmail@vanderbilt.edu 

Normal Business Hours

Post Office Service Window:  Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Package Window Only:  Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p. m. during the first 2 weeks

of a new semester only, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, 8 a.m. to Noon, when classes are in session

Students can pick-up mail with their packages at the Station B Package window, or

 at the dedicated Mail Only pick-up window also located at the Station B Package counter. Mail can be picked up M-F 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

 

HELPFUL HINTS

 

  1. Mail Services accepts the Commodore Card and credit cards only.

 

  1. NEVER SEND CASH IN THE MAIL OR CAMPUS MAIL.  We will not be responsible for lost cash.

 

  1. Items provided by University Mail Services:
  • Insured, international, certified, registered, Express, signature and delivery confirmation services can be purchased Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

  1. In order to ensure that an item reaches the right student in a timely manner, always legibly print his or her full name (not a nickname) as registered at Vanderbilt, as well as the student’s PMB mailbox number, on all mail and packages.  This may require that you give extra instructions to other mailers.  For example, cellular telephones often are registered in a parent’s name.  If a replacement telephone is mailed by an insurer, the address might list the parent’s name instead of the student’s name, thereby delaying delivery.  Finally, be sure to include the return address on the envelope.  Printed mailing labels are helpful and encouraged.

 

  1. When sending packages to campus:
  • If the shipper indicates that they do not deliver to a box number, indicate that the item is being shipped to a street address – 2301 Vanderbilt Place.  Be sure to include the PMB mailbox # and zip+4 to identify the student.  This street address and zip code are unique to the Vanderbilt Station B Post Office.
  • Allow adequate time for packages to arrive after ordering or mailing.
  • When trying to locate a package, please have the tracking number, carrier used (DHL, USPS, FED-EX, UPS), and other specific information about the package.
  • If you have the tracking number of a package you are expecting, you can visit our website www.vanderbilt.edu/mailservices and track the package to see if it has arrived on campus.

 

  1. Campus Mailboxes Fees: 
  • Undergraduate students who live on campus are given a mailbox free of charge.
  • Students who have off-campus privileges or study abroad will be charged for a mailbox on a per semester fee ($25.00).
    • Students who study abroad are charged the per semester fee to hold the mailbox in their absence.
    • Students who have off-campus privileges are charged a box fee.  If you do not wish to have a mailbox on campus, you must contact Station B Post Office prior to the second week of the semester to be removed from the mailbox. Mailbox charges will not be removed after the second week of any semester.

Fall 2021