I originally wanted to write a full series of articles introducing university application portfolios. But since I still have to prepare for the Tongce exam and simply don’t have time to write, I’ve put together some common questions and things to watch out for here for everyone’s reference, such as converting Word files to PDF and files being too large.

1. How do I convert a Word file to PDF?

For this round, the university application portfolio has to be submitted online as a PDF file. But most students make their portfolios in Word, so they run into a file format problem. If you're using Word 2007 or later, it's easy, because the program has a built-in export to PDF feature. But what if you're using Word 2003 or earlier? You can use the following software to convert Word to PDF format.After converting, don't rush to upload and submit the file. I strongly recommend checking whether the PDF differs from the original Word file, for example whether images have shifted or the layout has broken. These conversion programs can't guarantee a 100% identical conversion, and sometimes the formatting breaks, so it's worth checking.

2. What should I do if the image files are too large?

The portfolio submission system limits files to 10M, so many students have run into the "image file too large" problem. If you run into this, you can follow the steps below:
  1. When scanning, don't set the resolution too high. Also, if the certificate itself doesn't have many colors, you can consider scanning in grayscale mode.
  2. After scanning into a file, use the JPG format, and reduce the file size by using the "Resize" function.
  3. If these two methods still don't solve the problem, you can try the RIOT program to compress the image files (http://playpcesor.blogspot.com/2010/05/riot.html)
About the first point, I'd like to add a note. If your portfolio is going to be printed, don't set the scanning resolution too low, or it will look bad.

3. What if the PDF file is too large?

If you've tried compressing the images but the PDF is still over 10M, the problem may be the settings you used when exporting the file. Check the PDF conversion program you're using, and try lowering the resolution of the PDF and converting it again. After converting, remember to manually check whether the resolution has become too low. You need to find a balance between resolution and file size. If you still can't get it under the limit, that means you have too much material... For example, I personally think awards from elementary and junior high school don't need to be included in the portfolio. Professors probably aren't very interested in what you did when you were little!

You can also try PDF compression software, such as:

4. Is there a printing shop you'd recommend?

If the department you're applying to doesn't offer an online submission option, then you definitely need to read this section! Here I'd like to recommend a good printing shop. Their service is friendly and their prices are low: color A4 is only NT$2.5, and the quality is pretty good. But remember to convert your file to PDF before taking it to print, because the NT$2.5 price applies to PDF files.The shop is near Gongguan MRT Station. If you live in Taipei and need to print color portfolio materials, I recommend printing here. It's much cheaper XD

Closing:

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and ask me~ I wish everyone a smooth application process and admission to your dream university~ Now I’m off to study XD