Mail Services

Smith College Mail Services, located on the garden level of the Campus Center, handles all student, faculty and staff mail services.

Hours

Note: Mail and packages come in bulk and need to be sorted. It may take up to 48–72 hours before mail/packages are available or as space permits in the lockers. We appreciate your patience at this time.

Counter

Hours of Operation

Student Mail Pick-up Counter 

Monday–Friday: 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
Saturday: 11 a.m.–1 p.m., 2–5 p.m.

Closed for lunch on Saturday from 1–2 p.m.

Shipping and Mailing Counter

Monday–Friday: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Assorted pieces of mail on a plain background

Where can I pick up my mail and packages?
Students’ letters and packages will be loaded into lockers at Mail Services in the Campus Center. For items that cannot be loaded into lockers, students can come down to Mail services to pick up their packages from the pickup counter.

When can I pick up my mail or packages?
Students will be able to retrieve their letters and packages from the lockers or pickup counter during the Campus Center open hours.  Students will receive an email notification once their item(s) have been logged into our tracking system and another email if loaded into a locker.

Can I return packages through Mail services?
Yes. Mail services can take in returns as long as they already have a prepaid shipping label. Mail services cannot take a return that has a QR code, those will have to be brought directly to the shipper.

Can I mail out items or purchase stamps from Mail Services?
Yes. The retail window is open Monday through Friday 10am to 4pm. Mail services can ship items out using USPS, UPS, and FedEx. Mail services also carries various shipping supplies for sale including envelopes, stamps, boxes, and packing material.

When should I ship my personal belongings to Smith?
Students should send their items no sooner than five days before their arrival date at Smith. For example, if your arrival date is August 15, please ship your items no sooner than August 10.

Can I get my mail or packages if I am in isolation or quarantine?
No. Students who are in quarantine or isolation upon arrival or during the semester will be unable to retrieve items from Mail Services during that period. For extenuating circumstances, such as receiving prescribed medications, students can call customer service at x2400 or enter a work order at smith.metabim.com for assistance.

What happens when my package expires in a locker?
Packages are allowed 5 days in the locker before they expire. Once a package expires, we will then reload it into the same locker which you will then receive a new email. Packages can expire up to 3 times in the lockers before they get removed and kept inside Mail services. When this happens, Mail services will email you directly letting you know the package has been removed from the lockers.

What will happen to my mail and/or packages if they are in a locker and I need to go into isolation or
quarantine?
If a student goes into isolation or quarantine and has items pending pick-up from the lockers, please email Mail services and they will remove the items from the lockers and store them in Mail services until the student is cleared at which point they can come collect their items.

Will I be able to receive perishable items at Smith?
Yes, perishable packages will get marked with “perishable and urgent” when logged in and will get immediately loaded into a locker for the student to pick up.

If I live off-campus but, in the area, will I be able to send items to my Smith address?
No, students who live in the area off-campus should send their mail to their off-campus address. Students can email their updated address by sending an email to registrar@smith.edu. Faculty and Staff: Mail will be delivered to the normal drop-off locations daily. Outgoing campus mail will be picked up daily, it will be metered and go out the same day if received before 3:30pm. If departments have specific mailing needs that are of an urgent nature or would like to coordinate a mailing drop-off, please contact Mail Services for assistance.

How do I address an envelope?

  • The top left corner is only for your address. This is needed for if the letter cannot be delivered or is never picked up. It allows the USPS to return the letter back to the sender.
  • In the middle of a letter is the recipient’s address. The USPS will only look at the address in the middle when delivering and sorting the letter. Important: Swapping your address and the recipient's address can cause the letter to be delivered to yourself.
  • The stamp will always go in the top right corner.

Our Staff

For Students

Receiving Mail & Packages

Student mail, including packages, is picked up from locker mailboxes or at the pick-up counter. A notification email lets students know whether to pick up their item(s) from the locker mail box or the counter. When there is an overflow of mail/packages, the students pick up their items from the pick-up counter during counter hours. Students may also come to the counter to ask for their packages before they are loaded into the boxes. During rush periods, such as the beginning of the school year, packages take a day to sort due to the extraordinary volume. When ordering items or providing your box number to parents and friends, please provide the correct box number. Mail Services receives many packages with incorrect box numbers. When mail/packages are addressed to an incorrect box number, it slows down the sorting process.  

When students receive mail/packages they will receive a notification email from the locker mailbox system email address of MailLocker@smith.edu. Please do not reply to the MailLocker@smith.edu email address. If you have questions and want to contact Mail Services, please email or call 413-585-4156.

The email will contain the locker bank number (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) and a onetime-use pin number to be used at the kiosk to open the locker. When retrieving your item(s) from the locker mail box, please remove your item(s) and gently close the locker. When you get another item(s), the locker will email a new locker bank and pin number to you.

For mail/packages to reach you, they must be addressed as follows:

[Your Name]
Smith College
1 Chapin Way, Unit Number
Northampton, MA 01063

It is very important that the correct box number be put on the envelope or package. Mail Services has received an inordinate amount of packages with the wrong box number. Incorrect box numbers greatly delays the time it takes to receive your mail and packages.

Returning students, your mailbox number is the same as last year. New students, you have been assigned a mailbox number.

To receive mail or packages, you will need to provide your mailbox number as an identifier, even though it is now a "virtual” mailbox.

Please remember that most book vendors send books out using the Media Mail mailing class. Media Mail can take up to two weeks for delivery or two-eight business days.

  • All packages will be delivered through Mail Services
  • After mail/packages are sorted you can pick up your items at the pick-up counter by providing your unit number.
  • Mail/packages will also be put in the electronic mail lockers. you will receive an email when your items are put in a locker.
  • Packages may not be left unclaimed. Mail Services cannot store packages.
  • Misaddressed mail delays delivery.
  • Mail services is not able to accept packages that require a signature for restricted delivery service to a recipient 21 years of age or older.  Items that would require a signature are alcohol, cigarettes, firearms/ammunition, and items of high value.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you will be off-campus, please inform banks, periodical subscriptions, friends and extended family and provide them with your new address or your permanent home address. Please contact magazine and newspaper publishers well in advance as it typically takes four weeks for address changes to be implemented.

Mail Types

  • First Class Mail (Letters, Bank Statements, Etc.)
    United States Addresses: Mail Services will forward all first-class mail to your permanent address on record, if within the U.S. If you wish to have your mail forwarded to an alternative U.S. address please provide that information to Mail Services via email.

    It is the student’s responsibility to utilize the U.S. Postal Service’s “Change of Address” form when relocating from permanent address.

    International Addresses: Mail Services is unable to forward mail to international addresses.

  • Standard Mail (Magazines, Newspapers, Catalogs, Etc.)
    Standard mail will not be forwarded and is recycled. It is the student’s responsibility to contact magazine, newspaper, catalog subscription service to provide their change of address.
  • Packages
    All packages will be returned to sender. Students are responsible for updating the ship-to address with all catalog and online vendors (Amazon, L.L. Bean, eBay, etc.)
Mail Forwarding for Graduated Students
  • Graduates may request to have their first-class mail forwarded for six months.

Mail Services wants to help the college be as sustainable as possible. Please use paperless billing or opt out of the catalog mailing list when possible. If paperless billing is not an option, please have your monthly statements and bills sent to your permanent residence, not Smith. This will help cut down on the unnecessary monthly items sent to Smith.

Many graduating students complete forwarding mail address forms. This temporarily forwards student mail until students contact all their senders and update their mailing information.

The temporary forwarding of mail is a service that does not extend indefinitely after a student has graduated. You are responsible for contacting senders to notify them of your change of address.

The USPS provides an online service for forwarding mail to your new permanent or temporary mailing address.

Note that the USPS does not recognize the 01063 ZIP code for Smith College. Using the 01060 ZIP code when filling out the USPS online form.

Attention Students: Important Update Required for Amazon Deliveries

Dear Students,

To ensure your Amazon deliveries reach you accurately and on time, please take a moment to update your delivery address instructions in your Amazon account.

Here’s how you can help:

  1. Log in to your Amazon account.
  2. Go to "Your Addresses" under "Account & Lists."
  3. Select "Edit" next to your current address.
  4. Ensure your address details are accurate and include any specific delivery instructions that might help our delivery partners delivery your packages Please use the attached picture to help adjust your delivery instructions
see Amazon Setup Details heading for image content

 

Why This Matters: Updating your address information helps prevent delays and misdeliveries, ensuring that your packages arrive promptly and without issues.

If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out to 413-585-4156.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Best regards,
Mail Services Team

This is an extended image description of the text from the supplemental image in the Amazon Deliveries accordion box.

Property type

Business

When is this address open for Deliveries?

Monday – Friday

Open 8 a.m.
Closed 4 p.m.

Checkbox for Open 24 hours should be unchecked

Saturday – Sunday

Open 10 a.m.
Closed 4 p.m.

Checkbox for Open 24 hours should be unchecked
Checkbox for Closed for deliveries should be unchecked

Can this address receive deliveries on federal holidays?

Select "No"

For Faculty & Staff

Personal Mail or Personal Packages: Personal mail and packages can be brought to Mail Services' Retail Window for processing.

Payment Method: Mail Services accepts cash, check or Campus Cash. College business may charged to a department's org.

Interdepartmental Charge Back Method: Mail Services charges the org on the postage order form submitted with the mail to be sent out. If a Postage Order Form is not provided to Mail Services with the mail, then the return address on the envelope is used to charge a department's default org.

If a Postage Order Form is not utilized and the envelope does not have a Smith College departmental return address, then Mail Services has the right to open the envelope to identify a department to charge.

Tracking Postage Charges: The Mail Services Postage Order Form is the only method for tracking postage charges. If your department opts not to use Postage Order Forms, then Mail Services cannot substantiate your department's postal charges.

Campus Mail vs. Outgoing Mail: Please keep outgoing mail separate from campus mail. The campus mail is for delivering official college communications. Mail in your department to be picked up by the college mail truck and that exceeds the 5 bucket, letter trays, box or 50 lb. limit, must have a special pick-up. To arrange for a special pick-up, please submit a work order to Facilities Management via FacilitiesLink.

First-Class Metered Mail: This service is used for Smith College business correspondence. Mail Services will not process any personal mail. Any Smith College business item that can be mailed can be sent via first-class mail. This includes postcards, letters, large envelopes and packages. Any piece over 13 ounces will be sent as priority mail.

First-Class Mail Presorted: First-class presorted mail gets processed the same as first class mail, but at a discounted rate.

  • For a mailing to qualify for first class presort service, the mailing must meet the minimum of 500 identical pieces.
  • The entire mailing must be in sequential zip code order, from lowest to highest, in the mail trays, before being sent to Mail Services.

Nonprofit, Standard, Library & Media Rate Mail: These are various discounted rate mailing options primarily used for books, magazines, newsletters and production (bulk) mailings. Departments can obtain substantial savings by using any of these options.

  • Plan ahead with your mailings by allowing a few extra days for the material to reach its destination, versus the more costly first-class option.
  • Automation of a nonprofit or production (bulk) mail has a 200 piece minimum.

Nonprofit: Eligibility to use nonprofit rates is based on the eligibility of the content of the mail piece. Mail classified as Nonprofit Standard Mail must meet the general standards for Production Mail.

  • Prohibitions and restrictions: Nonprofit prices are not permitted for mailing promotional material, for credit cards, and promotional material for commercially available insurance and travel arrangements.

Media Mail: Media Mail service is a cost efficient way to mail books, sound recordings, CD's, DVD's, and printed music. Media Mail cannot contain advertising except for incidental announcement of books. The maximum weight for this service is 70 pounds.

Library Mail: This service can only be used for items on loan from or mailed between academic institutions, public libraries, museums, and other qualified organizations.

  • The content is limited to books, sound recordings, academic theses, and other certain items.
  • The name of the school or nonprofit organization must show in the address, or return address of each mail piece.

Certified Mail & Return Receipt: This service provides you with a receipt for proof of mailing and a tracking number.

Registered Mail: This service provides the maximum protection for valuables, particularly useful for overseas mailing.

Express Mail: This service offers overnight delivery to many destinations within the United States. Express mail is delivered to many locations 365 days a year.

Priority Mail: Priority Mail is an expedited service. It is usually two to three days for delivery, though there is no guarantee. Priority Mail is required on any mail piece that weighs more than 13 ounces.

  • Mail Services carries many Priority Mail shipping envelopes and boxes in many different sizes. Please feel free to call and check availability.

Mail Services collaborates with UMass Amherst for production mail jobs. The Production Mailing Form and mailing materials should still be sent to Mail Services.

  • If the UMass Bulk Mail Center has any questions, they may contact you directly.
  • Our goal is to process all addressing jobs within 48 hours of receipt of all the job materials.
  • Please allow a 48 to 72 hour processing lead time for all addressing jobs.
  • Submit all addressing jobs to Mail Services with an Excel spreadsheet (sent via email) and the Production Mailing Form. All job requests must be submitted by the project coordinator or person responsible for the job.
Helpful Links
Requirements

All materials must be received by Mail Services no later than noon for same day delivery to UMass. Please allow an additional 24 hours to process all jobs.

Mail Piece Specifications
  • Size requirements: at least 3" x 5" up to 13" x 15-1/2"
  • Thickness: no more than 1.25" thick
  • Weigh less than 16 oz.
  • Matte or Dull paper finish: If glossy or coated paper is used, the address block must be masked (in print terminology, this is called a knockout)
  • Please remember that field names must be identified with headers. If multiple files are being used, the format and fields must be identical and common amongst the files submitted. Campus mail, Five College mail and international records must be in unique columns.
  • Please remember that for mail to countries outside the United States, the country name must be spelled out on the spreadsheet.
Indicia

The indicia for Smith College is tied to Smith’s permit at the Amherst post office. Please use this indicia when creating new publications and mailings with the indicia preprinted on the material.

Graphic of the Smith College mailing indicia
Please note:
  1. The indicia needs to reside in the upper right corner of the address panel
  2. The minimum font size is 8 point
  3. The indicia can be any color, but the density must be 80 percent or higher

The software that Mail Services uses to verify addresses or address moves is call Satori. The Satori software identifies new addresses of recent moves, and helps to correct inaccurate addresses by adding missing information such as apartment numbers. This helps cut down on the number of undeliverable mail pieces.

The new USPS® Move Update Standard took effect on November 23, 2008. In a continuing effort to reduce undeliverable as addressed (UAA) mail, mailers are now required to demonstrate they have updated their mailing list within 95 days (formally 185 days) and now applies to all Standard and First-Class Mail.

The address verification service will help you meet this USPS requirement and help to ensure all your mail reaches its destination.

Please submit an Excel spreadsheet in the format below. Address Format (PDF File) Mail Services will run the addresses through the Satori software and return your Excel spreadsheet to you with information to help correct issues identified by Satori Software.

Address Check Pricing
$0.03 per address (100 address minimum)

For packages that require a customs order form, please submit the appropriate completed customs form if required.

  • For packages less than four pounds use form 2976
  • For packages four pounds or over, use form 2976-A

Helpful Links

USPS Change of Address Form USPS Calculate Time & Cost USPS Rate Calculator USPS Tracking for Certified Mail

Contact Smith College Mail Services

Campus Center

100 Elm Street

Northampton, MA 01063