Uploading your documents

Consider us paperless. In most cases, you will need to upload your supporting documents rather than mailing or faxing them.

Uploading will save you the time, effort, and expense of mailing transcripts and supporting documents. Plus, it can speed up the review of your application - so that you can obtain an admission decision sooner. We suggest you submit documents as soon as possible to prevent any delays to your application review.

Do not mail, fax or submit electronically copies of the documents that you have already uploaded to your application; doing so may slow down the review of your application.

How to prepare your documents

McGill University reserves the right to remove an uploaded document if the quality of the document is unacceptable, if a virus is detected, or if it does not match the checklist request. This will result in delays in reviewing your application and making a decision, so please follow these guidelines.

Make sure to preview your document prior to uploading and check that it fulfills all of the following requirements. You cannot edit or delete the document once it has been submitted.

File requirements

  • Your full name must appear on all uploaded documents.
  • Ensure that all critical and identifying marks and information are legible. For transcripts, these include the institution’s name and grading scheme, your name, the course titles, and the grades you have received.
  • Scan your document in black and white.
  • Ensure that the scanned document orientation matches the original. For example, transcripts that are printed vertically (portrait) should be scanned so that they appear in the portrait format. Transcripts printed horizontally (landscape) should appear in landscape format.
  • Scanning at a resolution of 300 DPI is recommended.
  • Documents must be in PDF format, without a digital signature or password protection. An individual file may not exceed 3MB in size. For more information, see the section "Converting your files to PDF".
  • Do not upload all your supporting documents as one file. Create one file per checklist item per submission. The checklist requirement selected for upload must match the document uploaded. If a checklist requirement does not have a matching document, your application will remain incomplete.
  • Documents with more than one page: When your document has more than one page, please ensure that all pages of the document are in the correct order.
  • The file name of any uploaded document must not contain parentheses () or quotation marks ("). Words should be separated with an underscore (_). Keep the file name short and relevant to its content.

See Frequently Asked Questions.

Transcripts

Transcripts received via the upload process are considered unofficial. If you are offered admission, you will then need to arrange to have the final official transcripts submitted to us. Your offer of admission will be contingent upon the receipt and verification of your official documents. Please do not send official records until we request them.

McGill University reserves the right to require official academic credentials at any time during the admission process, and to rescind any offer of admission made if discrepancies between unofficial and official transcripts are found.

Unofficial transcripts must meet all the requirements for uploaded documents listed above, in addition to the following:

  • If not on the transcript, the grading scale must also be provided (usually found on the reverse).
  • Transcripts in languages other than English or French must be accompanied by a certified translation.

Do not upload your syllabus, course schedule, or any other documents with your transcripts.

  • Example 1: Your transcript (in English or French) has four pages of courses and grades with a grading scale printed on the back of each page. Please upload and submit a five-page document: the four pages of course info + the grading scale, in that order, all in one document.
  • Example 2: Your transcript (in a language other than English or French) has four pages of courses and grades plus a one-page grading scale. The certified English translation of the transcript has four pages of courses and grades plus one page for the grading scale. Please upload and submit a 10-page document: five pages for the English translation (course info + grading scale) + five pages for the original language transcript, in that order, all in one document.

High school transcript

This is the entire transcript/report issued by your high school. This should be on school letterhead with a school stamp, with contact information of a school official, such as the Guidance Counselor, Principal, or Director. It may also be obtained from a self-serve high school web system (where available).

University/college transcript

This is a document obtained from your academic institution. It will be a complete academic record with the institution’s name, grading scheme, your name, names and numbers of courses, credits, and the grades you have received. This document may be:

  1. A copy or student copy of an official transcript issued by the university or college, or

  2. A transcript obtained from a self-serve university/college web system.

How to convert your documents to PDF

The instructions below assume the use of LibreOffice.org, a suite of free, multi-platform office software. Other software can be used to convert documents to PDF, including Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat and CutePDF Writer. Applicants should feel free to use the software of their choice; however, please keep in mind the file requirements.

From a document file

  1. Open the document in LibreOffice Writer.
  2. Under File, select Export to PDF.
  3. Ensure that Range is set to All. Click Export.
  4. In the File name field, type a name for the document. Keep in mind the requirements listed above.
  5. Click Save.

From a physical original

  1. Open LibreOffice Writer.
  2. Choose Insert from the menu bar. Scroll down to Picture, choose Scan and then Select Source.
  3. Identify your scanner hardware on the Select Source pop-up window. Highlight your scanner and press Select and the window will close.
  4. Choose Insert from the menu bar again, and then Picture, Scan, and the Request option.
  5. Choose the presets for your scan such that they fulfill the document requirements. Press the Preview button to view how your scan will look.
  6. Adjust the parameters of the preview image as you wish and press Scan when ready.
  7. Once the scan is complete, the text document should appear in LibreOffice Writer.
  8. Repeat steps 2–7 as necessary to include every page of your document.
  9. Under the File menu, select "Export to PDF" and save your document, keeping in mind file name limitations. If the file size is too large, reduce the JPEG compression setting as necessary, but please ensure that the exported file is legible.

Oversized files

The file size restriction for the type of document you are uploading will be indicated on the upload page. Most documents cannot exceed 3MB each (3000KB). To reduce the size of the file:

  • Lower the resolution (DPI) of the scanned image
  • Reduce the height and width of the scanned image
  • If available, reduce the quality of compression
  • Ensure that fonts are not embedded

Additional resources

  • Consult our Step-by-step guide for detailed instructions on how to upload documents on Minerva.
  • If you were asked to send official paper transcripts or you are applying to a program that requires paper documents sent by mail, consult the Mailing documents page.
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