For some reason, I had to overnight a package to DS. It “arrived” a day late, and was thrown in the pile of “we will get to it when we can” packages. DS pestered the PO staff, and with eyes rolling so energetically that it’s a miracle they could see at all, they found the package.
Tip: The sending PO wouldn’t give me a refund (delivery was “guaranteed” by a particular date/time) because I had thrown away the paper receipt. Never mind that there are numerous online indications that I’d paid, the tracking information, etc. SCAM. Keep your paper receipts until the package is in hand.
This is what I thought was “new”:
Street Addressing
You will have the option of using the street address of Yale Station for your mailing address in addition to your post office box number. Use this address when your post office box number is not accepted. Your address would be given as:
(Your Name)
206 Elm St #(6 digit box number)
New Haven, CT 06520-(last four digits of your PO Box)
NOTE: Yale Station now accepts UPS and FedEx parcels for delivery to student boxes. Use Street Addressing for accurate delivery of these parcels.
Is this what would be used for Amazon since you never know what carrier they will use, or is the Prospect Street address a safer bet?
ANYTHING to avoid that Yale station P.O. box!
I may be missing something, but I don’t think use of the 206 Elm Street re-routes mail away from the P.O. box – it just meets the requirement of some online retailers that you provide more than a box number.
I would be happy to know that things had improved over at the P.O., but a quick online search just led me to this editorial from April: http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2016/04/20/richardson-a-new-post/
One of the few things that Y does absolutely terribly, IMO. Wonder if anyone suggested putting a centralized, student-run campus mail station in the new Schwarzman Center?
@bookmobile, that’s a good idea. I thought that each RC should have a student-run Mail station, but they probably don’t each have room for it.
I’m not sure that Y is to blame for the current cluster. I’m usually a big supporter of USPS (I like my local mailman, and I think it’s amazing that I can leave an envelope in my NJ mailbox with less that a half-buck of postage and have it delivered to a friend in CA in a couple of days). But, the Yale PO is a scandal.
ETA: obviously not why DS did it, but improved mail is one benefit to moving to an apartment. Another, much more important to DS, is that the food quality on the meal plans has gone down between his first experience of it (2 summers before matriculating) to now (rising junior). It went from a selling point to something he didn’t want to pay for. He would rather cook (which, if you know him, is saying a lot). The concept of “cook centrally, reheat locally” is penny wise, dollar foolish. Our kids deserve better. And I put the blame entirely on Y.
@Faulkner1897 I think we have been using the street addressing for the past two years. We use it for Amazon. We have not had horrific problems. Maybe a day later than expected with Priority Mail flat rate boxes, but no big issues.
I may be wrong, but I think there is now a “Student Receiving Center” at 135 Prospect Street that avoids the post office on Elm Street completely.
Regarding the fall break – I’m also a new Yale parent with an incoming freshman, and we live on the west coast. I called one of the offices awhile back because I, too, am a planner who likes to book flights well in advance. The staff person I spoke to said that for the most part the students stay there or just go somewhere for a long weekend (except for those who live nearby). It’s intended to be a catch-up and rest time. So, I’m not planning on my daughter flying home for that break. Guess we’ll find out more as the year progresses.
@billupsj we are also from West coast. My dd stayed on the east coast for fall break last year, as did all of her friends. She was in NY with family friends for a couple days and on campus for the rest. She had plenty of work and extracurricular tasks to keep her busy but it also allowed her more socialization time with friends. She will probably do this again this year (sophomore). She did come home for thanksgiving and winter breaks. Since you are also a planner, they seem to schedule trips for spring break with friends. DD did and then I met her in NYC for the last few days. (Just giving you some ideas in advance.)
I know that a few friends of my daughter’s from the West coast had their parents visit them instead. It gave them a chance to see the leaves and the fall in CT. It made it easy for them to stay focused on their work that was still going to be do but also allowed them a piece from home. Just an idea.
What is the average price of a train ticket from NYC to New Haven?
@Kelowna from what I’ve found, Amtrak runs about $130 :-/
Very pricy…hoping there is an alternative. Discovered flying directly into Hartford was cheaper although then kid needs to get from the airport to NH…
Gosh, that is really expensive for such a short train trip ! I checked quickly online last night and it looked like $120, thought I was looking it up wrong !
The Metro North is $16 o/w.
How far out did you look for Amtrak? D pays much less for a longer trip on Amtrak. Next Thursday the 28th, you can get the saver rate of $36 at two different times of the day. The key to Amtrak is to buy early. That is why we put that responsibility with D so she will plan ahead since it is coming out of her pocket.
$16.50 - $22.00 from Grand Central one-way, depending on when you go and where you buy the ticket: http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/fares-NHLgrids.htm
Amtrak (from Penn Station) costs much more - from $41 to over $100.
Thank you ! I knew that there must be a cheaper option! How long does it take to get to New Haven from Grand Central? Is there any advantage to Amtrak vs Metro North?
Generally about two hours on Metro North - it stops at a lot of towns in CT. Amtrak is faster (about an hour and 40 minutes), but I don’t think that justifies the price difference. Best to check the MTA and Amtrak websites. Grand Central and Penn are equally convenient for most people.
@DeepBlue86 that’s probably my problem…was calculating from Penn Station. Didn’t realize there would be such a crazy cost differential :-0
There is really no good reason to take Amtrak from NYC to NH. On the other hand, if you are going to Providence, or Boston from NYC, that’s what you have to do.