From the Post Office

Mailing Tips For College Students

Cookies, cash, correspondence - all parts of the college student's lifeline to surviving four years of life away from home. As a college student, you will attend many classes to fulfill your degree requirements. What you will learn from using the following instructions will benefit you for the rest of your life. Consider this course, "USPS 101 - Mailing Tips."

Research has found that home-baked chocolate chip cookies fortify the brain cells of students who are cramming for finals.

To guarantee you receive your cookies "untossed," use a container strong enough to protect contents during handling, and cushion the contents to make sure they do not move. Place address information inside the container. Use pressure-sensitive filament or reinforced tape for closing and reinforcing flaps and seams. Do not use wrapping paper or string.

Be sure the address is clearly printed on one side only. Priority Mail is First-Class Mail weighing more than 11 ounces. It offers faster delivery at the least expensive rate in the industry. Your local post office can supply Priority Mail stickers, labels, envelopes, and boxes at no extra charge. Publication 2, "Packaging for Mailing," and Publication 227, "How to Prepare and Wrap Packages," contain additional tips and are available free from local post offices. Your local post

office has packaging products for sale, including tape, envelopes, padded bags, corrugated boxes, mailing tubes, and cushioning material.

"Help! I need cash for a) books, b) rent, or c) a frat party."

Do not send cash through the mail. Postal money orders are a safe way to send money. You can buy domestic and international money orders at all post offices in amounts up to $700. Use First-Class Mall for letters, postcards, greeting cards, personal notes and for sending checks and money orders. Use Priority Mail for First-Class items weighing more than 11 ounces. Certified mail provides a mailing receipt, and a record of delivery is kept at the recipient's post office. A return receipt to provide the sender with proof of delivery can also be purchased for an additional fee. Registered mail is the most secure option offered by the Postal Service. It provides added protection for valuable and important mail. Registered articles are placed under tight security from the point of mailing to the delivery office.

"Dear John (Jane), Since you left for college, I've met someone..."

To make sure you get the message IN WRITING, you'll need to share the proper way to address correspondence to you at your college dorm. The correct format for addressing both destination and return addresses is to use the complete address, including dorm or box, use common abbreviations (two-letter state abbreviations, for example), and use complete and correct ZIP Codes, including those that are unique to the dorm or college.

To learn more about our products and services, ask your local postmaster for Publication 201.