diff --git a/app/student/register/steps/RegisterStep.tsx b/app/student/register/steps/RegisterStep.tsx
index 157ea516..39f7e70f 100644
--- a/app/student/register/steps/RegisterStep.tsx
+++ b/app/student/register/steps/RegisterStep.tsx
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { UseFormReturn } from "react-hook-form";
 import { FormInputs } from "../page";
 import { Autocomplete } from "@/components/ui/autocomplete";
 import { DEGREES } from "./tempDegrees";
-import { sortUniversityOptions } from "../../../../lib/student-forms-access";
+import { sortUniversityOptions, universityAcronyms } from "../../../../lib/student-forms-access";
 import {
   Accordion,
   AccordionContent,
@@ -38,7 +38,13 @@ export function RegisterStep({
   const hasValidUniversity = refs.universities.some(
     (option) => option.id === university,
   );
-  const universityOptions = sortUniversityOptions(refs.universities);
+  const universityOptions = sortUniversityOptions(refs.universities).map(
+    (u) => ({
+      id: u.id,
+      name: u.name,
+      keywords: universityAcronyms(u.name),
+    }),
+  );
   const canCreateAccount =
     firstName.trim() && lastName.trim() && hasValidUniversity && degree.trim();
 
@@ -78,7 +84,7 @@ export function RegisterStep({
         setter={(val) => {
           regForm.setValue("university", val === null ? "" : String(val));
         }}
-        options={universityOptions as { id: string; name: string }[]}
+        options={universityOptions}
         value={university}
         required={true}
         preserveOptionOrder={true}
diff --git a/components/features/hire/paused-listings-banner.tsx b/components/features/hire/paused-listings-banner.tsx
index f1193d99..b202f724 100644
--- a/components/features/hire/paused-listings-banner.tsx
+++ b/components/features/hire/paused-listings-banner.tsx
@@ -47,9 +47,7 @@ export function PausedListingsBanner({
         <div className="flex items-center">
           <AlertTriangle className="w-5 h-5 mr-2 shrink-0" />
           <span>
-            <span className="font-medium">
-              {pausedCount} of your listing{pausedCount !== 1 ? "s" : ""}
-            </span>{" "}
+            <span className="font-medium">{pausedCount} of your listings</span>{" "}
             {pausedCount !== 1 ? "are" : "is"} marked inactive
             {waitingTotal > 0 && (
               <>
diff --git a/components/features/student/profile/ProfileEditor.tsx b/components/features/student/profile/ProfileEditor.tsx
index e91564b5..b3aed3a9 100644
--- a/components/features/student/profile/ProfileEditor.tsx
+++ b/components/features/student/profile/ProfileEditor.tsx
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ import {
   isValidOptionalURL,
   toURL,
 } from "@/lib/utils/url-utils";
-import { sortUniversityOptions } from "@/lib/student-forms-access";
+import { sortUniversityOptions, universityAcronyms } from "@/lib/student-forms-access";
 import { DEGREES } from "@/app/student/register/steps/tempDegrees";
 import { ResumeSection } from "./ResumeSection";
 import type { ProfileResumeManager, ProfileSectionKey } from "./profile-types";
@@ -485,7 +485,13 @@ export const ProfileEditor = forwardRef<
                 <div className="mt-3 flex flex-col space-y-3">
                   <EditFieldRow label="University">
                     <Autocomplete
-                      options={sortUniversityOptions(universityOptions)}
+                      options={sortUniversityOptions(universityOptions).map(
+                        (u) => ({
+                          id: u.id,
+                          name: u.name,
+                          keywords: universityAcronyms(u.name),
+                        }),
+                      )}
                       value={formData.university}
                       setter={fieldSetter("university")}
                       placeholder="Select University"
diff --git a/components/ui/autocomplete.tsx b/components/ui/autocomplete.tsx
index 1dc92583..686ba7bd 100644
--- a/components/ui/autocomplete.tsx
+++ b/components/ui/autocomplete.tsx
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { useAppContext } from "@/lib/ctx-app";
 export interface IAutocompleteOption<ID extends number | string> {
   id: ID;
   name: string;
+  keywords?: string[];
 }
 
 type MobileDropdownMode = "sheet" | "inline";
@@ -70,15 +71,21 @@ function AutocompleteBase<ID extends number | string>({
   const findExactOption = (value: string) => {
     const normalizedValue = value.trim().toLowerCase();
     return options.find(
-      (o) => o.name?.trim().toLowerCase() === normalizedValue,
+      (o) =>
+        o.name?.trim().toLowerCase() === normalizedValue ||
+        o.keywords?.some((k) => k === normalizedValue),
     );
   };
 
-  const resolveQuerySelection = (nextQuery: string) => {
+  const resolveQuerySelection = (nextQuery: string, matchKeywords = true) => {
     const text = nextQuery.trim();
     if (!text) return false;
 
-    const exact = findExactOption(text);
+    const exact = matchKeywords
+      ? findExactOption(text)
+      : options.find(
+          (o) => o.name?.trim().toLowerCase() === text.toLowerCase(),
+        );
     if (exact) {
       setter([exact.id]);
       setQuery("");
@@ -99,7 +106,11 @@ function AutocompleteBase<ID extends number | string>({
   const filtered = useMemo(() => {
     const q = query.trim().toLowerCase();
     const base = q
-      ? options.filter((o) => o.name?.toLowerCase().includes(q))
+      ? options.filter(
+          (o) =>
+            o.name?.toLowerCase().includes(q) ||
+            o.keywords?.some((k) => k.includes(q)),
+        )
       : options;
     return preserveOptionOrder
       ? base
@@ -354,7 +365,12 @@ function AutocompleteBase<ID extends number | string>({
             }
 
             const exact = findExactOption(nextQuery);
-            if (exact) {
+            // Only auto-fill on an exact NAME match; keyword/acronym matches
+            // (e.g. "dlsu") require an explicit Enter, blur, or click.
+            if (
+              exact &&
+              exact.name.trim().toLowerCase() === nextQuery.trim().toLowerCase()
+            ) {
               setter([exact.id]);
               setQuery("");
             } else {
@@ -371,7 +387,7 @@ function AutocompleteBase<ID extends number | string>({
             }
           }}
           onKeyDown={(e) => {
-            if (e.key === "Enter" && resolveQuerySelection(query)) {
+            if (e.key === "Enter" && resolveQuerySelection(query, true)) {
               setIsOpen(false);
               e.preventDefault();
             }
@@ -382,7 +398,7 @@ function AutocompleteBase<ID extends number | string>({
               if (Date.now() - lastSelectionRef.current < 250) {
                 return;
               }
-              resolveQuerySelection(query);
+              resolveQuerySelection(query, false);
             }, 150);
           }}
         />
diff --git a/lib/student-forms-access.ts b/lib/student-forms-access.ts
index d6a47dcf..56d5fb65 100644
--- a/lib/student-forms-access.ts
+++ b/lib/student-forms-access.ts
@@ -25,3 +25,49 @@ export const sortUniversityOptions = (universities: University[]) => {
       return 0;
     });
 };
+
+const ACRONYM_STOPWORDS = new Set([
+  "a",
+  "an",
+  "and",
+  "at",
+  "for",
+  "in",
+  "of",
+  "on",
+  "or",
+  "the",
+  "to",
+  "with",
+  "&",
+]);
+
+/**
+ * Generates candidate search acronyms for a university name so that queries
+ * like "dlsu" can match "De La Salle University".
+ *
+ * Returns two variants:
+ * - strict: initials of capitalized words only ("Ateneo de Manila University" -> "amu")
+ * - loose: also includes meaningful lowercase connectors like "de" ("admu")
+ *
+ * @param name The university name.
+ * @returns Unique, lowercased acronym candidates (may be empty).
+ */
+export const universityAcronyms = (name: string): string[] => {
+  const parts = name.split(/[\s-]+/).filter((p) => p.length > 0);
+  const strict = parts
+    .filter((p) => p[0] === p[0].toUpperCase())
+    .map((p) => p[0].toUpperCase())
+    .join("");
+  const loose = parts
+    .filter((p) => {
+      const first = p[0];
+      if (first === first.toUpperCase()) return true;
+      return !ACRONYM_STOPWORDS.has(p.toLowerCase());
+    })
+    .map((p) => p[0].toUpperCase())
+    .join("");
+  return Array.from(
+    new Set([strict, loose].filter(Boolean).map((a) => a.toLowerCase())),
+  );
+};