While the postal service is widely considered to be a great way to launch a life-long career, becoming a postal employee is not very easy. The prospective candidate has to pass certain criteria out of which the single most important one is the postal exam 472 (473e). 
This is the most commonly used series of tests that are administered by the United States Postal Service (USPS). In order to successfully make it to the next round of the screening process, all applicants will need to score at least 70 or above in each of the four sections of this exam. 

What is the Postal Exam 473 All About?

The 473 Postal Exam is often referred to as the “Entry Level Battery 473.” This is the most common and basic assessment test for most USPS entry-level positions. This test can be taken either online or at the nearest USPS recruitment center. Both the online and offline versions of this exam are completely identical to each other and they are broken down into 4 different sections: These sections are as follows:

• Address Testing: In this section, you have a total of 11 minutes to complete 60 questions. If that is not possible, then you should complete as many of these questions as you can.  
• Form Completion: Here, you will be given 15 minutes to solve a total of thirty questions.
• Coding and Memory: This is more of a test of memory than anything else. Here, you will have 72 questions and you have to finish as many as you can in a maximum of 13 minutes.
• Personal Characteristics and Experience Inventory section: In this section,  the candidate is given one and a half hours to complete 236 questions.

Here, it is pertinent to note that this exam is a highly specialized test that is administered by the US Postal Service in order to evaluate the skills that are related to any specific positions. This is why it is not considered to be a true aptitude test.

All Candidates Need to Score At Least 70 Percent on the 473 Postal Exam

This is the minimum passing criteria for this exam. As per US Postal Service statistics, 80-90 percent of applicants end up failing the 473 postal exam. Moreover, if you have failed this test, then you will need to wait at least 120 days before you will be allowed to retake the exam. Furthermore, while the minimum passing score is 70%, candidates are accepted based on their scores. What this means is that a candidate that scores 80 percent will be placed well ahead of someone who has scored the bare minimum of 70 percent.

Conclusion

In light of the above, it’s fair to assume that in order to clear the postal exam 472 successfully, it is absolutely imperative that you should take preparatory classes beforehand.