SOPs Word or PDF?

[samman1994]

Hello everyone,

Is it better to upload your SOP as a PDF or a text document (e.g. word)? I'm assuming PDF just because it's more professional, but just wanted to make sure. Thank you!

[fuzzylogician]

PDF, unless you are explicitly told otherwise. 

[cowgirlsdontcry]

Sometimes the apps will designate what they want and sometimes they will simply leave it open to either. Why do you consider a PDF more professional? I like it because the PDF is more fixed. Word docs can be changed.

[samman1994]

6 hours ago, cowgirlsdontcry said:

Sometimes the apps will designate what they want and sometimes they will simply leave it open to either. Why do you consider a PDF more professional? I like it because the PDF is more fixed. Word docs can be changed.

PDFs can be changed as well. Its more of a formatting thing however, and just easier to read, that makes them more professional. 

[PokePsych]

I'd go for PDF. Simply because if the school uses an old word processor the formatting may be messed up (spaces dissapearing, etc.). Whereas this is not the case with PDF. Unless of course the school states otherwise

[cowgirlsdontcry]

7 hours ago, samman1994 said:

PDFs can be changed as well. Its more of a formatting thing however, and just easier to read, that makes them more professional. 

I don't know how you think it's easier to read or more professional, as all that a PDF does is create a "picture" of the Word doc. As far as formatting goes, I have used Word since it's inception and formatting does not change because of use on an older machine and/or software. As a matter of course, Word docs in the most current version won't even open in older versions of Word. Universities (even in poor states) have the most current software available to faculty and staff (usually in the form of Office 365, which is also available to their students). If a university has the version of Adobe that allows for extensive editing of PDFs, they will have the most current version of Word. I think that many students are using Google Docs instead of Word and that may create a problem with the application software that universities use. I know it creates issues with Turnitin for both my students and me at times. Having said all of that, I converted my docs to PDFs for submission with applications during my season, unless the program asked for it in Word.

[samman1994]

I find it far easier to read PDF documents than word documents (I find higher clarity, easier to zoom, etc.). It may not be as professional in academia, but in the industry, PDF is definitely far more professional than a word document. You never want to upload your resume as a word document, always as a PDF. It looks sleeker, easier to read, if you have some designs they'll actually look nice in PDF vs. looking like crap in Word, etc. My assumption is academia has the same standards. Also, I don't think it matters much about which version of word you use, all new word programs should be able to read old word documents; however, word is definitely more prone to having corruption in its file vs. PDF. I've never had a corrupted PDF file, but have had plenty in Word (not as common in new word programs, but very common in older word programs), having programs randomly close on me, randomly corrupted files, etc. 

Edited November 4, 2017 by samman1994

[Sigaba]

3 hours ago, cowgirlsdontcry said:

I don't know how you think it's easier to read or more professional, as all that a PDF does is create a "picture" of the Word doc. As far as formatting goes, I have used Word since it's inception and formatting does not change because of use on an older machine and/or software. As a matter of course, Word docs in the most current version won't even open in older versions of Word. Universities (even in poor states) have the most current software available to faculty and staff (usually in the form of Office 365, which is also available to their students). If a university has the version of Adobe that allows for extensive editing of PDFs, they will have the most current version of Word. I think that many students are using Google Docs instead of Word and that may create a problem with the application software that universities use. I know it creates issues with Turnitin for both my students and me at times. Having said all of that, I converted my docs to PDFs for submission with applications during my season, unless the program asked for it in Word.

You've been using Word since 1983 or Word for Windows since 1989?

The statement "I don't know how you think [PDFs are] more professional" is a bit of a head scratcher. In my experiences working in two different industries with clients and third parties in different sectors of the economy, a PDF document is considered more professional than a Word document because PDFs are platform independent. Moreover, a graphics-heavy PDF is generally much smaller in file size than original files and therefore easier to hand off to clients.   And a PDF has security features that are crucial when handing over proprietary information. Companies have policies that forbid handing off source files such as Microsoft Office files to clients and third parties without case by case approval by managers and project managers. Companies insist that deliverables be submitted as PDFs.

Also, the formatting of Word documents does change if a computer doesn't have the same fonts used to make the original document, or if a slightly older version of Word is used to open a .docx file because older versions of Word don't have as many colors and features.

And, according to Microsoft, older versions of Word can open docx files, and for several years, Word has had a feature to allow backward comparability. 

[fuzzylogician]

19 hours ago, cowgirlsdontcry said:

Why do you consider a PDF more professional? I like it because the PDF is more fixed. Word docs can be changed.

PDFs aren't platform-specific. They don't depend on your readers having some particular version of the proprietary software you used to create the document. Fonts and design won't get all messed up simply by opening the file in a slightly different version of the software than was used to create it, or if your reader happens to not have a font installed that you used (because you can embed them in a pdf). And PDFs are usually smaller in size.

Your feelings about Word aside, PDFs are universally easier to use. 

[cowgirlsdontcry]

2 hours ago, Sigaba said:

You've been using Word since 1983 or Word for Windows since 1989?

The statement "I don't know how you think [PDFs are] more professional" is a bit of a head scratcher. In my experiences working in two different industries with clients and third parties in different sectors of the economy, a PDF document is considered more professional than a Word document because PDFs are platform independent. Moreover, a graphics-heavy PDF is generally much smaller in file size than original files and therefore easier to hand off to clients.   And a PDF has security features that are crucial when handing over proprietary information. Companies have policies that forbid handing off source files such as Microsoft Office files to clients and third parties without case by case approval by managers and project managers. Companies insist that deliverables be submitted as PDFs.

Also, the formatting of Word documents does change if a computer doesn't have the same fonts used to make the original document, or if a slightly older version of Word is used to open a .docx file because older versions of Word don't have as many colors and features.

And, according to Microsoft, older versions of Word can open docx files, and for several years, Word has had a feature to allow backward comparability. 

Windows came out with its first stable platform meant for the Net in 1995. Word wasn't very stable before that (neither was Windows--I had a standalone computer in the office with Windows and a very early version of Word) and a majority of companies used WordPerfect, which was the big wordprocessing program that was used almost unilaterally across the US until then. Many companies had servers and limited networks that had capabilities of emailing intra-company. I worked as the assistant to General Counsel at one of the top 4 oil companies in the world in the early 90s and it had a network that was supposed to be company-wide, but many departments had their own servers and networks for security reasons (i.e. the law department that General Counsel was over). When Windows 95 and Office 95 were launched (I was back in a private law firm in Denver by that time), many state and county departments went in that direction almost immediately. State universities followed within a year. Law firms were slower to respond, keeping their WordPerfect. My firm went to Word in late '95. Outside of some quick training in Windows/Word, I was the Go To person who trained everyone in the firm. I developed the templates the firm used and ways to use the auto numbering system that has not always worked well in Word. Now, although I have Word 2016 Pro, I simply have it set for MLA, although I do have a template for Chicago, which English publishes in, since all I do is write critical literary essays.

My experiences with Word evolved within the world of law firms, from mid-size firms of 50 attorneys to world-wide firms with 1,000+ attorneys. No one is more paranoid about security than lawyers and most of them still use it every day to send documents back and forth between firms to make red-line comments. I have also seen red-lined docs come from clients with their comments. You are completely correct in what you say about security, but I worked in the field until six years ago, and I know what I saw happening every day.

[Sigaba]

37 minutes ago, cowgirlsdontcry said:

My experiences with Word evolved within the world of law firms, from mid-size firms of 50 attorneys to world-wide firms with 1,000+ attorneys. No one is more paranoid about security than lawyers and most of them still use it every day to send documents back and forth between firms to make red-line comments. I have also seen red-lined docs come from clients with their comments. You are completely correct in what you say about security, but I worked in the field until six years ago, and I know what I saw happening every day.

In your experience, when all the i's were crossed and the t's were dotted, in what format did lawyers use when transmitting docs to other firms? 

[PokePsych]

8 hours ago, cowgirlsdontcry said:

I don't know how you think it's easier to read or more professional, as all that a PDF does is create a "picture" of the Word doc. As far as formatting goes, I have used Word since it's inception and formatting does not change because of use on an older machine and/or software. As a matter of course, Word docs in the most current version won't even open in older versions of Word. Universities (even in poor states) have the most current software available to faculty and staff (usually in the form of Office 365, which is also available to their students). If a university has the version of Adobe that allows for extensive editing of PDFs, they will have the most current version of Word. I think that many students are using Google Docs instead of Word and that may create a problem with the application software that universities use. I know it creates issues with Turnitin for both my students and me at times. Having said all of that, I converted my docs to PDFs for submission with applications during my season, unless the program asked for it in Word.

Try opening .docx on windows XP pre-installed office (YES MY UNI USED THAT UNTIL THIS SEMESTER - updating everything, including some programming software, stats software, etc. to latest version can be expensive and a painstaking process - we only updated because of security reasons). It DOES mess up .docx when opened in windows 7 (not office 365). Spaces disappear, some formatting gets distorted. It does depend on the font, however I wouldn't risk it. PDF would be the save option in all instances anyway.