The college website does not state whether it accepts UPS deliveries. The box I have is rather heavy and post office is closed until Tuesday so I was thinking of sending it UPS.
Both of my kid’s college post office accepted delivery from UPS, FedEx, and the USPS regularly. From what I remember from a few years ago, UPS says that they won’t deliver to a PO box # so my son told me to put Apartment number instead of Box number on the address and it was never an issue (ex. if he was Box 100, I just wrote Apartment 100).
Can the kid quickly check with the Facebook buddies to see if they received any UPS packages through the college’s mail room?
You could actually call the college mail room instead of just looking at the website. Or see if there is a director of mail services that you could email.
I don’t know if they would get an email response today, though. My guess is that it will get there just fine.
I meant to call the school post office yesterday but forgot. The school is closed Monday so I will probably take a chance and send it UPS. Son thinks post office accepts UPS deliveries. I just hope there is not too much of a surcharge shipping it throught Staples.
Thanks for the suggestions.
You have to,ask the school. My kids both went to schools where their regular mailbox did NOT receive UPS or Fedex…or any other kind of package. BUT both schools had a completely different address to which packages could be shipped. The school then sent an email to the student to come to this mail room to packages.
Both my kids get UPS and FedEx packages delivered to their school box. The mailroom person signs for the package and they get both an email and a slip in their box. The box number only matters in that the mailroom person knows how to match up the package to get it to the right place. You aren’t asking them to deliver to some unmanned box at a business or post office.
My kid went to school where the regular USPS mailbox (which every student must have) did NOT receive UPS or Fedex.
I heard, at least in one year, that if there is an overnight shipped package from Fedex, the residential college is willing to take/hold it. The regular package? No.
However, at the beginning of the school years, I think there are Fedex and UPS truck which park near campus for a couple of days. The students can pick up their package in this way, but it is only during the beginning of the fall semester.
I also know that, at that time, there was some special building (actually in the basement of that building) on campus where the students could go pick up their UPS packages (but not Fedex ones). But it sometimes takes a while before the student is notified that s/he has a package to pick up there.
Also, the waiting line at school’s post office could be long, depending on the day of the year (e.g., when the students need to ship their stuff back home.)
Every school’s mailing policy (for USPS, UPS, and Fedex) could be different.
It happens to us several times that we sent our kid a package. At the end of the school year, the unopened package was mailed back home. We know right there that it is time for us to stop helicoptering too much.
In my experience, you need a street address to ship via UPS. From there, the school probably will put it in the campus mailroom with a pickup slip in the student’s box. (Worked for 3/3 children, YMMV)
At the school where I work, we have a P.O. box for the address … so we have a different address to use if a package is sent FedEx or UPS. Both my kids’ schools had the same address for all shipping methods. At D’s school, packages were picked up in a central place. At S’s school, USPS packages were delivered to a central point, then distributed to his dorm. FedEx and UPS were delivered directly to his dorm - this method was always delivered to him several days more quickly, so that is how I always sent packages. This sort of info might be available by searching on the school’s website … or see if you can find the student handbook online.
daughter’s rural school has same address for her whether we ship SUPS or another carrier like UPS or FedX etc. son’s urban college has a separate address for other carriers. best to check with the school. Tyberius, what was your experience?
Some schools don’t allow any packages to be shipped directly to the dorms. All packages go to only one central mail facility. It is so inconvenient for the student if the package is very heavy.
lmao, I was thinking the same thing. Pick up the phone!
OP posted on a Saturday when the mail room was obviously closed…
Yes I needed an answer on Saturday and the post office was going to be closed on Monday. I had forgotten to call on Friday. I am not too lazy to pick up the phone, and have called previously to make sure the post office was going to be open during fall break. The package was delivered yesterday so they do accept UPS deliveries at the school post office. Not sure I would ship UPS through Staples again though.
Weren’t there any UPS Stores nearby? I would always check those first.
In researching the issue I had found that the majority of UPS Stores (which are franchises) charge a surcharge over what UPS itself charges. I could not find that information for Staples so I hoped it didn’t. As the price was about $8 more than what I expected from the UPS website I guess they do charge a surcharge. The clerk did not know, but then she didn’t know how to add insurance or which receipt to give me.
I think most schools have an arrangement/accommodation with the local UPS delivery folk. At Dartmouth, for example. the student’s USPS address is Hinman Box ###. You send UPS to ### Hinman, and they pretend it’s a street address. Everyone wins.