<p>I have all my essays formatted in TextEdit, and copied and pasted them directly from the TextEdit file. But CommonApp still tells me they had to delete my formatting. </p>
<p>There was one thing I tried where the indentations worked, but I still got that error message. Also, when I clicked continue it just became a huge block of text. </p>
<p>When I submit, will it always just turn into a huge block of text and be received like that, or is there a way to see the formatting?</p>
<p>No formatting is allowed other than bold, underline, italics and a single return to indicate the start of a new paragraph. Also, the bold, underline and italics tend to make the paper look less professional because font size is affected (larger or smaller and sometimes a different appearing font entirely) in the formatted text. When you get to the preview stage, you’ll see how your application will look to the admissions counselors and can go back and edit to improve the appearance.</p>
<p>Thanks!
Turns out I found the answer written very vaguely on the Common App Help Page. But the detail in your answer helps!</p>