Check the application route first
This guide concerns the School of Design assessment route for applicants with an Italian qualification. Applicants with a foreign qualification follow separate instructions. Check your current admission guide and online fields before preparing files; this page does not establish eligibility or an open application window.
Match each document to its own limit
The official page lists PDF portfolios up to 20 MB, CVs up to 4 MB, study-plan self-certifications for applicants from other universities up to 5 MB, and motivation letters up to 4 MB. The motivation document contains letters for each selected course. Documents may be in Italian or English. The study record includes grades, subject areas and the weighted average. Certain applicants entitled to direct admission do not upload assessment documents; check that exception before creating an unnecessary bundle.
1. Export clean PDFs from the originals
Keep an untouched copy. Export the CV and letters directly from the authoring software, retaining searchable text. For a portfolio, optimise oversized source photographs before exporting, while preserving captions, diagrams and fine detail. Do not turn every page into an image to reduce size. These are separate upload categories: do not merge the entire application into one PDF.
2. Assemble only pages belonging to one document
If one required record consists of ordinary scanned pages, use Images to PDF, inspect the order, and download the result. If that record is already split across ordinary PDFs, use Merge PDF. These tools run in your browser. Their limits include 40 inputs, 30 MB total, 200 PDF pages and 24 megapixels per image where applicable. Annotated files, attachments, signatures, interactive forms and encrypted PDFs are not suitable for this workflow.
3. Compress only when the finished file is too large
Open PDF compression and choose a custom target for that document. Suggested working margins are 3.8 MB for a 4 MB field, 4.8 MB for a 5 MB field, or 19 MB for a 20 MB field. These margins are not university requirements. Check actual bytes after downloading: the corresponding working targets are 3,800,000, 4,800,000 and 19,000,000 bytes. Follow any stricter byte limit shown by the portal. Compression uploads the file to the server; temporary files are deleted when processing ends. Input is limited to 30 MB and 200 pages. A target may remain unreachable.
4. Review the result before uploading
Compare every page with the original. Zoom into small portfolio labels, thin lines, photographs and transcript grades. Confirm page count, reading order and complete text. If the smaller copy loses useful detail, return to the source export; do not remove required pages. Upload each file to its matching university field, inspect the uploaded version if available, and complete the portal’s submission steps. A successful download from PDFMinto is not an accepted application.
Frequently asked questions
Does the 4 MB limit apply to the portfolio? No: the listed portfolio limit is 20 MB for this route. Can I use these limits for a foreign qualification? Follow the separate foreign-qualification instructions instead. Can PDFMinto validate my self-certification or sign it? No. Keep digitally signed, protected and interactive documents out of this processing workflow. Is a smaller file guaranteed? No; readability and the actual output size must both be checked.
Official source and verification
Verified 19 October 2026 against the live School of Design page. Consult the current admission guide for the applicable academic year, deadlines and document preparation details. PDFMinto is independent of Politecnico di Milano.