Hey RBase,
Thanks for reaching out to me. With respect to your question about acronyms, the safest policy is to spell out the acronym the first time, and then simply use the acronym throughout the rest of the essay. I would use this policy across all essays. That is, every time you reference an acronym for the first time in an essay, spell it out.
Now keep in mind that you have to use common sense. Since I do not know you too well I can't make too many assumptions about that point. But let's assume one thing – that you are of reasonably sound mind. This means that you do not need to spell out acronyms such as IBM or GM. You have to assume that the admissions committee has not been living under a rock for the past few years. Also, if you wanted to be a little more aggressive about your use of acronyms, you would want to consider killing off acronyms employed by the school you are applying to. For example, at Wharton just simply state VIP, and do not spell out Wharton's Venture Initiation Program if you are running short on words.
All of the above being said, you really should not be in a situation where you are so damned tight on words that you have to resort to writing everything in acronyms. I know you think that you are tight on words, but I'm willing to bet $10,000 of Mitt Romney's money that you probably have a few awkward and fugly looking sentences in your essay. You pick the essay and I'll find one - guaranteed.
Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti
RBase wrote:
Hi Paul, i have a question about acronyms on the essays, resume etc. Do i need to spell every thing out or am i good with just using the abbreviated terms.
Thank you, Rob
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