<p>We're in California, so we won't be driving to Earlham in August, and taking D's earthly possessions on the plane as luggage would cost a fortune. Is Earlham set up to receive shipments of student belongings before the student arrives? We'd like to have them waiting for us when we get there, to maximize her moving-in time before classes start. And which is better, UPS or USPS?</p>
<p>Yes, you can ship stuff ahead. The mailroom is open during orientation so you can retrieve anything you’ve sent. I believe you’ll get information on this in materials you’ll recieve during the summer. We’ve used FedEx, USPS, and UPS, and all work fine.</p>
<p>Richmond has a Walmart, a Kmart, and Meier, which is sort of a higher-quality Kmart. There’s also a department store downtown, Elder-Beerman. There’s not a tremendous amount of time for shopping during orientation, but we managed to get everything our D needed. We’re from California, too. Just fyi, during summers our D has either stored her stuff in free dorm storage spaces or in cheap off-campus storage.</p>