Address, Mail, and Packages

Your Mailing Address at Ashdown

235 Albany Street
[Your Room Number and Letter (if applicable)]
Cambridge, MA 02139

Proof of Residency

If you need proof of residency for the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV), you should contact the Housing Office (graduatehousing@mit.edu or 617-253-2811). They can provide a letter for you with MIT’s letterhead. Be sure they include the dates of your employment! The Office of Graduate Education (OGE) may also be able to help with this (odge@mit.edu or 617-253-4860).

Incoming Mail

Your room key also opens your mailbox. Your mailbox number is your room number (including the room letter, if applicable). For information on receiving items too large to fit in your mailbox, please see Packages below.

Outgoing Mail

The United States Postal Service (USPS) picks up mail Monday through Saturday. You can drop off outgoing mail in the lobby of Ashdown through the slot next to the front desk. You may also leave packages with a shipping label for pickup at the front desk. If you do not have a shipping label for your package, you must arrange for pickup with the company that will be picking up the package and providing the shipping label. Companies that come to Ashdown for shipping purposes are: UPS, FedEx (Express, Home, & Ground), DHL, Lasership, and USPS. Your package may not be picked up the same day as when you bring it to the front desk as every carrier does not come every day. PLEASE NOTE: FedEx and Amazon now require you to request a pickup; they will not pick up a package without a request being placed.

Mailing Items Within Campus

If you need to mail something to another MIT location, there is a drop-off for interoffice (on-campus) mail in the lobby of Ashdown.

Forwarding Mail

After residents move out of Ashdown, we forward mail to their new address for a six-month period. During tax season, this period is extended, and tax-related mailings will be forwarded residents who have left Ashdown within the past year. All other mail will be returned to its sender.

Packages

If you receive an object that is too large for your mailbox, you will be notified via an email stating that there is a package for you at the front desk. Please bring your MIT ID with you in order to retrieve your package. The front desk will scan your card for you, confirming that you retrieved your package. If you do not have an MIT ID card yet or do not have your MIT ID card with you, please have your MIT ID number ready, as that can be entered manually to allow you to retrieve your package.