<p>My friends in New York could not name a single UC. I guess it is just who you ask.</p>
<p>UCLA - everybody in southern cal down to the guy who just crossed the border knows it. cant speak for other states but im sure the recognition is on the high side.</p>
<p>So you think it is fair to say that everybody on the east coast can name schools nationwide but people on the west coast can not?...hmmm interesting. Also I did not say you could not name them I said two of my friends could not.</p>
<p>Until I applied to colleges, I didn't know most of the ivy league. I didn't know Stanford was a good school. I still don't know the locations of many elite schools. I still don't know much about LACs or universities that I didn't consider in my college search.</p>
<p>Californians tend to be a little insular. We have the UC system and we have Stanford, Pomona, the Claremont colleges, USC (the real one :D), Pepperdine, Harvey Mudd, Scripps, Occidental, Pitzer, and CalTech -- who needs out of state? :P</p>
<p>I kid, I kid. But in my high school, there were less than 15 people in each graduating class (of ~400-500 students) that ended up going out of state, and those that did sometimes went for family (or just because it was the best school they got into).</p>
<p>People recognized the schools I've been to -- I think I would be hard pressed to find someone in California who hadn't heard of the UC schools (even Santa Cruz, if only because of the various non-academic myths surrounding it).</p>
<p>When asked where my son goes to school I often just say "Boston". It is easier then to say MIT, which can at times feel like boasting. I once said MIT, and after explaining where it was, I was asked why we had chosen to send him there, instead of Vermont Technical College, which is closer and far less expensive. I simply said he liked the idea of going to school near a big city.</p>
<p>I just want to say, I had never heard of a lot of the so-called "prestigious" schools until I began reading this forum... the truth is, not a lot of people are researching all the top schools so they can know what the deal is when somebody decides to slap some personal prestige their way. Harvey Mudd, for instance, didn't even enter my vocabulary until I learned about it on this forum, and I have no clue about any of the schools within the college. When I first heard the name, I thought, "Oh, nice, a pig farm for rednecks eh?"</p>
<p>You really shouldn't worry about random people not having heard of your college. A taxi driver earlier this year asked where I go. When I told him that I go to Yale, he had never heard of it. I told him it was in Connecticut, and he asked why I was going so far away. He then told me his son was going to the local community college, and it was clear that he considered that more impressive than Yale. So basically, what random people you talk to know/don't know doesn't matter. Remember, some of them probably can't name any college other than ones within a 15 minute drive.</p>
<p>Yeah I never tell people Im going to Wharton before Upenn. Basically I just tell them Upenn and they are like "oh in the city?" and im like yeah...and then they are like "what do you plan to study?" and im like "finance" and they are like "in the business school? thats one of the top business schools in the world right whats the name?" and im like "wharton".....that happened about 3 times to me..
otherwise its "oh nittany lions" or i just say im going to upenn and they just assume wharton automatically "wow wharton?!"
meh who cares the people who need to know how good my school is already know.</p>
<p>Haha. The lack of recognition gets annoying. I am going to Haverford and everytime people ask me where I am going for college, they never recognize it. Either they confuse it with Harvard (Fellow Fords know how annoying that is) or they confuse it with Hartford. Either way, it's either in MA or CT. I just tell them I am going to school in PA. If that's not enough...:-/</p>
<p>Nobody's saying that we NEED our schools to be better known...the thread is just anecdotal. Since I'm forever explaining that I go to school "in Claremont, near LA..." I completely empathize (and if I have to actually try and explain the consortium...whoa, baby). Those who have heard of my school (and I meet them in the most random places) think it's great, and those who don't, well...I willingly signed on for that when I chose a LAC! I generally just assume that people aren't too familiar with my school so I start with the broader "Claremont." If that rings a bell, then I'll go on and specify. Of course those of us who are in the midst of applying/attending have a warped idea of "common knowledge," but that fact is hardly unique to this experience.</p>
<p>Now, some of my more entertaining observations/experiences...</p>
<ul>
<li><p>A Pomona shirt that reads "Pomona College (it's okay, we haven't heard of you, either)"</p></li>
<li><p>A Scripps shirt that reads "Scripps College (and I DON'T study fish)"</p></li>
<li><p>A Mudd shirt that lists the top 10 reasons for attending HMC and includes "I thought I was going to Harvard Med"</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Not to mention the many times that people have thought I'm a student at CalPoly Pomona, or for that matter, at Claremont McKenna! :-)</p>
<p>"I'm going to Kenyon"</p>
<p>"So why are you going to Africa?"</p>
<p>There is a shirt that says "Kenyon, not near Uganda"</p>
<p>Of course, Kenyon wouldn't be Kenyon if it was incredibly well-known.</p>
<p>Eh...people in my town still think I'm going to LSU even though I've corrected them numerous times that I'm going to Louisiana Tech. </p>
<p>Oh gah, and on Facebook Tech's network is 'LA Tech,' so a couple people I went to HS with even sent me private messages saying stuff like, "I thought you were going to LSU? Since when are you going to school out in California?" </p>
<p>Ha, or if I just say Tech in conversation with some of my not-as-close friends some would say, "I didn't know you even applied to Texas Tech! No more LSU for you!"</p>
<p>One person even tried to argue with me about what my school's colors are...and what our mascot is. Ugh. </p>
<p>At first I got irritated when people did that kind of stuff, but it just makes me laugh at this point.</p>
<p>I think you're expecting too much out of people if you expect everyone to know what Stern is. I go to NYU also, and while I'm in CAS, i still tell people that my school is "NYU" (although my case is totally different since telling people I go to "The College of Arts and Science" is incredibly vague, but the point of matter is, even if I was in Tisch or Stern, I would still be replying "NYU" to those who ask)</p>
<p>Stern is well-known in the business world, and thats where you should probably expect people to know what you're talking about. The average person is not going to know what Stern is, what Ross is, what Tisch is, or whatever. So, not to be mean or anything, but I don't think you have a right to be annoyed about it, because then you just come off as elitist and self-involved, something I'm sure you wouldn't want.</p>
<p>EDIT: If you must, I guess you could say "NYU-Stern," just so it's a bit more clear.</p>
<p>NO one seems to have heard of U Penn. Everyone I tell is just like "Oh... that's far" or "Where's that?" I've even had someone tell me "Pity you couldnt get into Penn State instead."</p>
<p>Penn <em>cough</em> State *cough University = University of Pennsylvania :)</p>
<p>A professor at UC Santa Barbara once told our class a story where her own sister thought she taught at USC and would send her kids USC hats and stuff for Christmas, even after repeated corrections.</p>
<p>nobody knows of top colleges where i live: People in my school think: NYIT suny oneonta local cc and hofstra only</p>
<p>Man, I hate it when people confuse Penn with Penn State ... but yeah I've encountered quite a few people who just nod politely when I say I go to Northwestern, or think I'm talking about some regional school in northwestern Texas. Oh well! My summer boss at least was very impressed.</p>
<p>One of my friends said she was once asked where she went to school, and she said Pomona. She got the reply "so why don't you go to a four year college?"</p>