Our Address

zking786 · 08-19-2006, 05:39 AM

Will we have a PO box address for our final assignment dorm? Or will our mail be forwarded to us by our name? How does the system work?

molliebatmit · 08-19-2006, 09:26 AM

US mail and FedEx/UPS/whatever packages get delivered to the dorm front desk every day, and the front desk workers put the mail in your mailbox and notify you if you have a package.

Your address will have the format
Your name
Your dorm's street address
Your room number*
Cambridge, MA 02139

*If the dorm requires it -- MacGregor desk just looks up everybody's number for every piece of mail. Not sure what the policy is for other dorms.

LauraN · 08-19-2006, 09:27 AM

If you switch out of your temporary dorm, you'll leave a forwarding address to your new dorm. If you stay in the same dorm, your address may not even change. In BC, at least, the deskworkers go through all the mail and re-sort it anyway. So as long as the mail gets sent to the dorm, someone will look up your room number and makes sure it gets into the right mailbox. I'm sure other dorms will do the same, it's not like they don't have a list of everyone's name and room number available. =P

zking786 · 08-19-2006, 01:01 PM

Unfortunately, it seems EC doesn't allow you to send stuff to your temporary dorm assignment. They said that they haven't setup "mailboxes" for pre-RUSH students.

The reason I asked about our mailing address, though, is I've seen a couple of EC students posting a PO box on their blogs or their facebook accounts.

jessiehl · 08-19-2006, 04:30 PM

In EC, you get a PO box when you get your permanent room.

mootmom · 08-19-2006, 05:00 PM

Knowing that my son was temped in EC and wanted to stay there, I timed some things he needed to have sent to him to *arrive* addressed to him, at the EC address, on the day after permanent room assignment. I knew he'd be in EC *somewhere*, so Desk just had to figure out which PO box was his and put the pickup slip in that box, but I didn't ask them to hold boxes for him while he was in temporary housing. Maybe that's not the best way to do it, but I thought it was the most respectful yet still efficient.

zking786 · 08-19-2006, 11:28 PM

So EC doesn't mind if we have things sent to it's address rather than to our PO box number?

kevtrice · 08-20-2006, 12:41 AM

I don't think you might be discouraged from putting your room number on it because the mail gets sorted by paid desk workers and put in the right boxes.

jessiehl · 08-20-2006, 08:05 AM

Quote:

So EC doesn't mind if we have things sent to it's address rather than to our PO box number?

I like mootmom, but just because she did it a certain way doesn't mean it's the best idea (and she even says herself that it might not have been). I know many of the EC deskworkers, and yes, they will mind at least a little, and they will ***** about millennials, especially if they get the idea that you are assuming you will still be in EC post-dorm rush.

Don't have your things sent to you until after you have permanent housing. Take what you need until then with you. It is not hard. You do not need that much during Orientation. If you are in EC, you can either have stuff sent to your PO box, or you can use your room number in place of your PO box (possibly necessary for large packages).

Alternately, you can just bring all your stuff with you in the first place, but not unpack it until you have permanent housing. This is dependent on you not bringing a ridiculous amount of stuff.

zking786 · 08-20-2006, 09:03 AM

I agree with you that in most cases, mine included, it is not safe to assume that one will be content in their pre-RUSH dorm. The reason I was wondering about whether EC uses PO boxes was because a post carrier I'll be using doesn't ship to PO boxes. If I stayed permanently at EC, I might have problems receiving these items.

But, correct me if I'm wrong, it's ok to send packages to the EC dorm with your name and room number.

jessiehl · 08-20-2006, 01:14 PM

Quote:

But, correct me if I'm wrong, it's ok to send packages to the EC dorm with your name and room number.

Yes, absolutely, that's fine.

mootmom · 08-20-2006, 02:42 PM

I've shipped things to EC using non-PO-box services by making the address:
3 Ames St., #xxx
Cambridge MA 02142

where "xxx" is the box number where his mail is delivered. Everything seems to arrive just fine using that approach. (Jessie, am I peeving Desk by doing it that way??)

(PS: My bad for mentioning how I sent boxes last year, sorry Jessie! In my defense, I didn't send them until mid-week, knowing they wouldn't arrive until after Rush, since I knew Desk wouldn't want stuff delivered early. If I had it to do over again, I would wait just a couple more days and tell the kid to just tough it out until the boxes arrived.

Thanks for providing the best advice!)

jessiehl · 08-20-2006, 07:23 PM

mootmom: If you put the box number, it's all good. You can use the box number or the room number.

Oh...future EC frosh! Please tell your parents, when they send you stuff, that it is very important, if they are using room number, to include the letter that precedes the three-digit number! If you live in, say, Bemis 405, they should put "B405." If they just put "405", it is irritating, because there are six 405s in East Campus.

binks · 08-21-2006, 08:05 PM

Oh and a heads up for those who are stationed at Bexley...the city of Cambridge is doing construction on the sidewalk right in front of the dorm, so the main entrance to the dorm is blocked off. The temporary entrance is the back entrance in the alleyway right behind the building. There should be people to guide you there.