<p>Just a general question... are you allowed to shorten a name (from Boston University to BU for example) in your supplement essay? I feel like that would come off as too casual, yet I kinda need the extra space...</p>
<p>You can do that but make sure to write out the whole thing the first time you mention their school and put BU in (). Like this: After my visit to Boston University(BU), I have …
From then on, you can just use BU.</p>
<p>^ I wouldn’t recommend that, it seems really redundant. They know what their own school is called. Using the full name the first time is fine, but it seems even weirder to put the nickname in parenthesis.</p>
<p>I don’t think shortening it is wrong on principle and if you need the extra space, definitely go for it. I can’t imagine an essay constantly referring to “University of Massachusetts- Amherst” when it could just say UMass, for example.</p>
<p>I think if the shortened form is what students commonly/affectionately call the college, then it would be fine.</p>
<p>I shorted U of So Cal to USC because I needed the characters. I am sure it is fine, especially if the college uses the abbrev itself.</p>
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