The HLS Mail Center, located in the basement of the WCC, Room B086, receives mail and packages for on-campus residents. This is also the location of your mailbox. The mailroom is staffed from 8am to 5pm. You will be able to access you mailboxes at all hours of the day, using your Harvard ID card.
Address
Your mailing address will be assigned to you in early August, prior to move-in. We will not be able to issue mailing address or accept residential mail until early August.
Your mailing address will be formatted as follows:
1585 Massachusetts Ave ####
HLS Residential Mail Center
Cambridge, MA 02138
The #### will be your mailbox number (NOT your dorm room number).
Mail Service
Mail services are provided for residents of the HLS Residence Halls and Apartments only. Students living off campus looking for a mailing address other than at their apartment might consider a P.O. Box at The U.S. Post Office, UPS, or similar store. Mail (except packages) will be placed in the mailboxes located outside of the mailroom in the basement of the WCC. Mail will be delivered Monday-Friday; Saturday mail is added to the Monday mail delivery. Packages will be kept in the mailroom and a note will be delivered to the mailbox alerting the student that he has a package and will need to stop by the mailroom during regular office hours.
The mailroom does not provide postage to students. A mailbox is located outside of Pound Hall on Mass Ave. There are nearby U.S. Post Offices located at 125 Mt. Auburn Street (near Harvard Square) and 1953 Massachusetts Avenue (near Porter Square). Residents are prohibited from allowing anyone else from using their mailing address, including students living off-campus. Residents who intentionally damage or improperly attempt to enter resident mailboxes will be reported to the Housing Administrator in the Dean of Students Office and be subject to possible disciplinary action by the Administrative Board.
Package Services
Package services are provided for residents of the HLS Residence Halls and Apartments only. Packages sent to residents via U.S. Postal Service and other carriers are delivered to the HLS Residential Mail Center. Staff will sign for and store these packages until the resident picks them up. Residents will receive an email notifying them that a package has arrived for them. U.S. Postal Service letters requiring a signature upon receipt are treated in the same manner as packages. Airline tickets are also handled in this manner. Residents may pick up their packages at the mailroom, Monday-Friday between 8am and 5pm. Residents picking up packages must show proper identification (Harvard I.D. or driver’s license) and will be required to sign for all packages. Residents may pick up their own packages only.
Package Shipping
Individuals may arrange shipment of packages through the HLS Residential Mail Center. There is a scale in the WCC Mail Center that can be used to weigh packages to be shipped. Individuals must contact UPS, provide them with the required information (including weight of each package), arrange for payment, and leave the packages to be shipped. UPS will pick up packages at that location. For more information please ask the staff.
Summer Mail Forwarding
First-class mail received after a resident moves out through August 1st will be forwarded, provided the resident completes the Summer Mail Forwarding Form, which will be released in late April. Only first class mail (bills and personal letters) will be forwarded. Non-first class mail (magazines and junk mail) that arrives during the summer will be discarded.
Those who do not complete the Summer Mail Forwarding Form will have their mail returned to sender. Residents will not be able to stop by the HLS Residential Mail Center during the summer to pick it up. All first class mail received after August 31 will be returned to the sender.
After graduating residents move out they should notify any organizations, companies, or people who will be sending them mail of their new addresses. Completing the change of address form with the U.S.P.S. will not work, so you must complete the form in order for your mail to be forwarded. Graduating residents are advised to make direct notification regarding change of address to family, friends, banks, credit card companies, law firms, and other important persons or businesses to ensure faster processing of summer addresses and to prevent interruptions or delays in receiving mail.