Do you know that there are two postmark deadlines? Which is the real one?

<p>Hi, I live in Canada
and I went to the post office to mail off bunch of application forms
at 9 pm on December 31st, and I saw them "postmarking"
my envelopes saying December 31st</p>

<p>but, I just found out that the central post office do their own
postmarking again when they recieve the envelopes.
And, apprently because of the holiday and the location,
they will supposedly postmark my Columbia application forms January 4th!
(Columbia deadline is January 2nd and others are even earlier)</p>

<p>Then, am I screwed up?
Would the universities consider the first postmark from the post office,
or the later postmark from the central office?</p>