<p>For my "why-oxy" essay, I'm a bit shirt on room. Would I penalized if I said "Oxy" instead of "Occidental" to save characters?</p>
<p>Mathela,
I asked my daughter, who is a freshman at “Oxy”, and she said she definitely called the school “Oxy” in her essay. </p>
<p>Perhaps the first reference should be Occidental, and then Oxy later in the essay…but that’s just my guess?! : )</p>
<p>By the way, she loves the school, the people, the city and of course, the weather!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>As an intern in the Occidental College Office of Admission, I can say with certainty that referring to Occidental as Oxy in your essay is perfectly acceptable. Feel free to follow Mathela’s advice and simply reference Occidental in your introduction before using Oxy.</p>