<p>This is sort of a strange question but, basically, for the common app essay, you have to address your reasons for wanting to transfer...so I want to talk about some of the issues at my current school...but it sounds really awkward to keep saying "blah blah American University blah blah" all the time. SO my question is...is is really bad to refer to your school by acronym (in my case AU) or should I write out the name each time, even though it hurts the overall flow/tone of my essay?</p>