Upload SOP and Writing Sample as .PDF or .DOC?

[ahlacruz]

I haven't seen anything on application websites about whether to upload the SOP/Writing Sample as a PDF or DOC. What are others doing?

[alleycat393]

I haven't seen anything on application websites about whether to upload the SOP/Writing Sample as a PDF or DOC. What are others doing?

I've done all mine in PDF. I find PDF more professional, universal and more difficult to modify

[Bukharan]

I have submitted absolutely everything in PDF. It is more professional I believe. I also think it looks better visually.

I noticed that some online application systems slightly reduce the quality of the submitted PDF files but if we are talking of 'typed' documents (SOP) it should not be a problem. It could sometimes affect uploaded transcripts.

[diehtc0ke]

I did them all as .docs and no one had a problem with it. It's not something to really worry about I don't think.

[Alyanumbers]

A lot of applications will convert the .doc files to PDFs, anyway.

[foppery]

<br style="text-shadow: none;">A lot of applications will convert the .doc files to PDFs, anyway.<br style="text-shadow: none;">

<br style="text-shadow: none;"><br style="text-shadow: none;">I second this.

If there's one thing I learned during my application season, it's that if your application is good, no one will care whether you submit a PDF or a .doc (or any number of trivial things); and if you're not a good fit for the department, no amount of reformatting will alter your chances. STOP WORRYING. It's bad for the health. Some departments don't even care whether they get your GRE scores on time, let alone whether you convert all your documents into PDFs.

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