united states mail

If you get it to the P.O. before 11:00 am and it's going to someplace that 's possible according to the P.O. (most decent sized cities) then it gets there the next day. Otherwise it takes 2 days. If they don't get it there by the time they say they will (you can track delivery on-line), you can get a full refund. Last year I got refunds on about half the stuff I sent by Express Mail. I would not count on priority mail getting there in 2-3 days.

 

Actually I've had better luck with Priority Mail. I pay the extra 50? for Delivery Confirmation, and I find that even things going from the East to the West Coast get there in three days. It's really a good deal for things weghing less than a pound.

- Tae

 

Well, priority probably is a bit faster in the lower 48 than it is from up here. Even so, I would bet that going from small town east coast to small town west coast might take longer than 3 days. I too have used delivery confirmation on priority mail, when I didn't need overnight or 2nd day delivery. It's mostly for peace of mind, because if a school says that they didn't get something (i.e. it fell behind a desk where it will stay for the next 20 years), the fact that you've tracked it isn't going to help. I think it's harder for the schools to lose the larger Express Mail envelopes. Just some thoughts from someone who sent out many, many pieces of mail during last year's AMCAS debacle (when lots of schools had us sending hard copies of our AMCAS app).

 

I am planning on using Priority Mail with "Signature confirmation." The recipient must then sign for your package and you can see signature details online. I think that it costs 3.85 for Priority and 1.80 for the Signature Confirmation. Simple delivery confirmation seems useless to me.

 

Just a warning before you use signature confirmation...

Some places do not like people to send their materials with signature confirmation, because it requires too much time to find someone who is authorized to sign for the package.

Besides, the person authorized to sign for packages will probably be a mail room clerk, no where near the admissions office (or wherever you're sending it to) and thus, a signature confirm will probably be not as useful as you may think.

 

Echoing this - I worked for the usps and found that signature confirmation is more problematic, as the person delivering the mail can't leave it with the mail room. In most schools, express mail is handled differently then priority - schools keep their own records of what comes in (with the numbers and signatures). If you really want to know something got there, as for a return recipt request form - you'll get a copy of the signature of the person who signed for it (on a postcard mailed back to you).

 

Priority mail isn't guaranteed. It's supposed to be delivered within 2-3 days or whatever, but it can just as easily be delivered in 6 weeks, or not at all. I know from personal experience and the experiences of my friends and family.

Express mail is guaranteed, but why waste the money at all? Just send it by regular mail and call a week later to see if it arrived. If you want delivery confirmation, the post office can do that for about $0.50.

 

Yeah, first class with delivery confirmation is generally reasonably fast on the same coast (South to New England ~ 3 days; within 100 miles, generally 1 day). I don't know about first class coast-to-coast, maybe a week or so, but Priority Mail is usually about 2-3 for coast-to-coast. Of course, neither is guaranteed, but mail service is much more reliable than people give it credit for [see exception below].

If you print shipping labels using USPS software, you don't even have to pay extra for delivery confirmation for Priority Mail (there is a small charge for first class--13 cents-ish).

Of course...as long as you don't use the Post Office at 06520, your mail will arrive reasonably fast. And if you're sending mail from that post office, don't drop it in the slot inside the post office; instead use the blue boxes out on Elm Street.

-RA

 

Wow...I've never had a first class postal item delivered within one day, even in the same city.

 

I've actually had the opposite experience. I've never not had it be delivered by the next day in the same city.

-RA