Preparing Your Photo for GST University Admission (Bangladesh)

The GST application requires a photo that is 300×300 pixels, saved as a JPG/JPEG file, with a file size within 100KB. This is a specific, published requirement — getting the dimensions and file size right the first time avoids a rejected upload partway through the application.

In addition to the uploaded photo, the GST system also requires a live selfie capture during the application process itself, so make sure you're completing the form on a device with a working camera.

Most phone and webcam photos come out much larger than 300×300 pixels and well over 100KB, so you'll need to resize and compress the image, not just crop it. Crop the photo to a square first, resize it down to exactly 300×300 pixels, and save it as a JPEG — checking the resulting file size before you upload it.

Once you're through the initial application and any admission test, the final admission step at your chosen university typically asks for additional documents — scanned or physical copies of your SSC and HSC certificates, mark sheets, admit cards, your NID or birth certificate, and additional photos. These requirements are separate from the GST application's own photo upload, so keep both prepared ahead of time.

Dhaka University is not part of the GST cluster and runs its own separate admission process, even though some GST test centers are hosted at DU facilities. If you're applying to Dhaka University specifically, its own admission portal will have its own separate requirements — don't assume the GST photo specification applies there.

PDFAreUs works with PDF files. It does not have a tool that resizes a photo to 300×300 pixels or shrinks a JPG below 100KB, and Compress PDF does not accept image files. The photo itself has to be prepared with a photo editor, and the steps below use the ones already on your phone or computer. Where our tools do help is with the certificates and mark sheets you will need at the later admission stage.

On a phone, crop the photo to a square in your gallery app first (look for a 1:1 option). Gallery apps rarely let you type an exact pixel size, so you will need a photo resizing app for the last step, or you can send the cropped photo to a computer. On a Mac, open the photo in Preview, crop it square, then choose Tools and Adjust Size and enter 300 by 300 pixels.

Whichever way you do it, check the result before uploading: open the file's details and confirm the dimensions read 300×300, the type is JPG or JPEG, and the size is under 100KB.

At 300 pixels across there is not much detail to spare, so the original matters. Stand against a plain, light wall, face a window so the light falls evenly on your face, and have someone else take the picture from chest height. Your head and shoulders should fill most of the square. A selfie held at arm's length distorts the face and usually shows a tilted background.

Follow the dress and background rules in the current GST circular. They are checked, and a photo that breaks them can be rejected even when the file itself is technically correct.

A studio sometimes sends photos as a PDF sheet. PDF to JPG turns each page of that PDF into a JPG image, which you can then crop and resize as above.

When a university asks for scans of your SSC and HSC certificates and mark sheets, photograph each one flat and turn the photos into a PDF with Scan to PDF or JPG to PDF. Keep each document as its own file unless one combined file is requested, in which case Merge PDF joins them in the order you choose. Compress PDF reduces a scanned document that is over the stated limit; check the grades and registration number at full zoom afterwards.