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

First Year Move-In Information

********2024 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, Vanderbilt bookstore, and other retailers near campus.

NOTE: We do not return packages until after move-in! Please disregard package notification emails that say we only hold packages for 5 days!

 

Special Instructions for Packages Sent to Fall 2024 First-Year Students Moving in on Saturday August 17th, 2024

  • 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 Wednesday July 31st , 2024. We do not want packages to arrive before Friday August 2nd, 2024. All packages must have name, address and the Vanderbilt assigned PMB Number for the student. July 31st will be the first day the PMB numbers are available to students. 
  • 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 17th will be in the Mail Services tents (3). We ask that you try to combine items to limit excessive amounts of packages.
  • Mail Services will utilize 3 tents this year. You will pick up any packages at your assigned tent.
    Upper Quad – Will serve Murray, Sutherland & Crawford dorms.
    Lower Quad – Will serve Hank Ingram, Stambaugh & Gillette dorms.
    Wyatt Lawn – Will serve East, West, North & Memorial dorms.
  • In an effort to expedite move-in for first-year students, Mail Services will be placing some packages directly in dorm rooms prior to students' arrival.  These packages must arrive between August 2nd & August 8th, 2024, to be considered. Please check each package carefully inside your dorm, If you have a package that doesn't belong to you please bring it to one of the mail/package tents asap. 
  • Packages received August 9th through August 15th will be available for pickup in your assigned tent.
  • Packages received after August 15th will be available for pick up at our Main Post Office (Station B) in Rand Hall or our temporary pickup location at the Student Life Center garage on Friday August 16th, Saturday August 17th or Sunday August 18th. Please see your package notification for the pickup location.
  • Please use shipping boxes that your student will be able to carry/handle.
  • We recommend insuring packages for the value of the contents. USPS Priority, UPS and Fed Ex Ground insure each packages 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.
  • 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.
  • We strongly suggest not using Walmart for purchases. Their delivery methods are less than reliable, and they leave items all over our campus. If you use Walmart we will not be responsible for lost or items delivered incorrectly.

 

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

 

Picking Up Packages during Move-in:  

Packages shipped to Vanderbilt for first-year students on/after August 9th, and up to August 15th, 2024, will be ready for pickup at your assigned tent on the Martha Rivers Ingram Commons:

 

  • Saturday, August 17th, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

 

Assistance with transporting packages to residence halls will be provided until 12:00 noon on Saturday at your dorm, August 17th only, by the move crew. Hand trucks are available on a first come basis at the tents. It is very important to return these hand trucks before 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, failure to do so may result in the student being charged for the hand truck. ID’s must be left to get a hand truck.

The Mail Services tents will be located on the lower quad, upper quad and Wyatt Lawn. 

Any packages remaining after 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 17th 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 15th) and have not been picked up by August 18th, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. are subject to be returned to sender without further notice.

 

How to get your assigned Vanderbilt PMB (Private Mail Box) number for shipping. Please visit our webpage www.vanderbilt.edu/mailservices on the right side of the main page click on Mail forwarding/address Information, login with your VUnet ID and password,  a box will pop up with your name, and “Box Assignment” you will see a 4 digit number. This is your Vanderbilt Assigned PMB number. You do not have to put the B after the number. DO NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES IN THIS SCREEN! This is only to get your assigned PMB number for shipping and receiving mail. PMB assignments are not available until July 31st.

 

Using the Address Format below, the student’s full given proper name and the campus address should be clearly marked on all packages.  NEVER 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.

Address Format:

John Smith

PMB 35XXXX (XXXX is the Vanderbilt assigned 4 digit number)

2301 Vanderbilt Place

Nashville, TN 37235- XXXX (assigned 4 digit number)

If shippers tell you, they can’t ship to a PO Box tell them this is a private mailbox located at 2301 Vanderbilt Place. This will be their address for their entire tenure at Vanderbilt, unless they take a leave of absence, medical leave, or leave the University. We do charge a $25 fee if you study abroad to hold the mailbox.

Should you have additional questions please feel free to call the main Post Office 615-322-2934.

Mickey Anglea

Postmaster

 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. This will ensure the student will keep the same PMB number.
    • 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.
    • If you choose to relinquish your mailbox for any reason, you must obtain a new PMB number from the Station B Post Office before shipping any packages to campus. Failure to obtain a new PMB number may result in items being returned to sender.

Fall 2024