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myun · 11-26-2002, 05:25 AM

Hi folks, long time no see. I was too busy with my work (I still have a life before getting into grad school

) as well as with my applications. Finally I am submitting an on-line application to one school that has an early deadline.

I wanted to ask a question about on-line submission of essays. Actually I am submitting an essay in the text file format rather than in any word-processed form because I figure that text file form is the most generic and is portable in any form of editor. However, I am also supposed to submit my resume/CV; as much as I like to play around with text files, I think it is difficult to make a nicely formatted CV (which is rather long) in the txt form. But I do not want to use MS-word because I feel that it is unreliable, i.e. it sometimes gives different output in different machines. The only reliable form of documents that I know of is PS (postscript) and PDF files. Well, PS file is out of the question because not many people know about it, and most people do not bother to install ghostview in their Windows box. PDF, on the other hand, is a widely used and reliable form of a document, and I believe that most machines have acrobat readers. So I am thinking of submitting (or rather uploading) a PDF form of my CV as an addition academic info in the, what else, "Supplementary Academic Info" entry of the on-line form.

My Q: Is it appropriate to upload a PDF file? The instruction says I can choose my "favourite" word processor. But PDF is not a word processor although you can generate a PDF file from any decent word processor. Or should I write a text file? Any thoughts?

Personally I think it is a pity that Tex/LaTex has not taken over the world.

**Erin** · 11-26-2002, 04:33 PM

Are you using Embark? Or is this school using a proprietary system?

If this school is using Embark, it will take your file and convert it to a PDF file. I believe a few years ago that Embark accepted input in ASCII only, but I suppose they realized it was difficult to create good resumes and essays without formatting.

If the school is not using Embark, and they will allow you to upload a PDF file, I would definitely do that instead of uploading a .doc file. As you said, the local machine's normal.dot can affect the appearance of the file; futhermore, Word documents store information about the user that many people forget to erase before they send .doc files.

Of course, you need to have Adobe Acrobat to be able to create a PDF file, although I seem to recall seeing on Adobe's website something about letting you create a free PDF file to see how the process works.

paragtandon · 08-22-2003, 03:19 AM

RTF format is a standard format and results are not different on different machines. You cannot use many fancy features of Word though.

You can save any doc file to rtf in Word. One additional benefit is in rtf file you cannot pass around word viruses.

HTH
Parag

11-26-2002, 04:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
Erin So many things to do... Forum Admin Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: USA Posts: 8,303	Are you using Embark? Or is this school using a proprietary system? If this school is using Embark, it will take your file and convert it to a PDF file. I believe a few years ago that Embark accepted input in ASCII only, but I suppose they realized it was difficult to create good resumes and essays without formatting. If the school is not using Embark, and they will allow you to upload a PDF file, I would definitely do that instead of uploading a .doc file. As you said, the local machine's normal.dot can affect the appearance of the file; futhermore, Word documents store information about the user that many people forget to erase before they send .doc files. Of course, you need to have Adobe Acrobat to be able to create a PDF file, although I seem to recall seeing on Adobe's website something about letting you create a free PDF file to see how the process works. _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ [Say 'hi'!] [Google Interviews Erin] [San Francisco Chronicle Interviews Erin]

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11-26-2002, 05:25 AM	#1 (permalink)
myun Eager! Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: USA Posts: 71	Hi folks, long time no see. I was too busy with my work (I still have a life before getting into grad school ) as well as with my applications. Finally I am submitting an on-line application to one school that has an early deadline. I wanted to ask a question about on-line submission of essays. Actually I am submitting an essay in the text file format rather than in any word-processed form because I figure that text file form is the most generic and is portable in any form of editor. However, I am also supposed to submit my resume/CV; as much as I like to play around with text files, I think it is difficult to make a nicely formatted CV (which is rather long) in the txt form. But I do not want to use MS-word because I feel that it is unreliable, i.e. it sometimes gives different output in different machines. The only reliable form of documents that I know of is PS (postscript) and PDF files. Well, PS file is out of the question because not many people know about it, and most people do not bother to install ghostview in their Windows box. PDF, on the other hand, is a widely used and reliable form of a document, and I believe that most machines have acrobat readers. So I am thinking of submitting (or rather uploading) a PDF form of my CV as an addition academic info in the, what else, "Supplementary Academic Info" entry of the on-line form. My Q: Is it appropriate to upload a PDF file? The instruction says I can choose my "favourite" word processor. But PDF is not a word processor although you can generate a PDF file from any decent word processor. Or should I write a text file? Any thoughts? Personally I think it is a pity that Tex/LaTex has not taken over the world.

08-22-2003, 03:19 AM	#3 (permalink)
paragtandon Eager! Join Date: May 2003 Location: USA Posts: 37	RTF format is a standard format and results are not different on different machines. You cannot use many fancy features of Word though. You can save any doc file to rtf in Word. One additional benefit is in rtf file you cannot pass around word viruses. HTH Parag

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