Curious as to why Penn's international reputation isn't as strong....

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>..as the other Ivies. Even nationally it's struggles to find a general audience. It seems like Penn is the only Ivy that isn't showcased in the media. Even Cornell and Dartmouth have major shout outs in films. Why not Penn? </p>

<p>And for a school that is 11th best in the world according to the THES, 15th according to ARWU and 6th nationally according to US NEWS, I am surprised it doesn't have as much of a reputation around the world. Even schools like UC Berkeley, NYU and UCLA have more recognition.</p>

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<p>It has a hugeeeee rep! Many movies… recently Philadelphia, I think it was called… and I know in India it’s really big… there was a whole Bollywood movie shot on campus called Swades… The Ambanis (top ten richest ppl… big business ppl from India) sit on the board of Wharton or something like that… the list goes on & on…</p>

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<p>it depends where you’re from too. penn has a big rep where I live (northeast)</p>

<p>in my opinion, the school’s international reputation would skyrocket if it changed its name to wharton.</p>

<p>if princeton were still called College of New Jersey, do you think it would have anywhere near the rep it does now??</p>

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<p>I’ve been saying that for years. Penn is certainly not lacking in reputation compared to Cornell, Dartmouth, or Brown (internationally or domestically), but it is not on par with Harvard or Yale. I guess the name University of Pennsylvania does not command the same attention as something like “Princeton.” </p>

<p>According to my Indian friends, Penn has much stronger reputation there than Dartmouth or Brown, but it could still do a lot better.</p>

<p>By the way, ARWU rankings are highly disputed and focuses on grad school rather than undergrad (or there is no way Berkeley could be ranked 3 while Yale is 11)</p>

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<p>I honestly think changing the name to Wharton University would be a great marketing move. If you think of it, penn is the only Ivy that has a more than one name (university of Pennsylvania, upenn, penn). While it may seem negligible, it actually plays a big impact on name recognition. No doubt, Penn is highly reputed and well known (its an ivy afterall); but im sure the name Wharton would elevate its name recognition to that of HYP).</p>

<p>Also, do you think it would ever happen though? I find it hard to believe that such a prestigious university would make a name change this far down the road (although i’d favor it greatly).</p>

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<p>But, why do you guys care so much? What really matters is how recruiters view Penn and the kinds of opportunities you’ll be offered with a Penn education. Unless you want to show off at cocktail parties or something, Penn’s branding to the world at large doesn’t really matter.</p>

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<p>Penn is building up steam. Part of the reason it doesn’t have as famous of a name is that it didn’t used to be a contender in elite, undergraduate circles. Now it is, and once we rack up the famous alumni that go with that type of notoriety, it will become far better known.</p>

<p>Also, in southeast Asia and China, Penn is actually very well known. And certainly in NYC, Boston, LA, etc. Where it matters, people will know the school.</p>

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<p>YAY COLLEGEe</p>

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<p>A lot of people begin their resumes and answer questions about what college they are going to with the iconic Wharton, instead of answering with Penn.</p>

<p>Ultimately njpremed is right that recruiters still understand the value of a penn education, but AstonMartin isnt out of bounds saying that Wharton is the premier brand that gives UPenn some comparable rep to HYPS. </p>

<p>Without Wharton Penn would surely be considered behind.</p>

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<p>Muerteapablo - </p>

<p>Do you think Penn will continue to pick up speed after the financial collapse? The school really built its rising reputation and dropped its admit rate due to finance over the past couple decades. I just don’t share your confidence that there will be as much unmitigated support for schools built on such abstract speculation industries in the future. </p>

<p>I could be wrong. Time will tell.</p>

<p>I agree with changing the name. Penn’s so often forgotten in the Ivies and really shouldn’t be for all it offers. Another name option would be to draw on its founder, Ben Franklin. Ben Franklin University or Franklin University or something. But, obviously Wharton would be smarter and carry greater cache (that guy would certainly get bang for his investment buck).</p>

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<p>no no, not franklin university, we don’t want to be FU</p>

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<p>in the history of the school, it has changed its name 3 times already. I don’t see why it can’t be done again</p>

<p>I don’t want it to be franklin because I am positive there are already other schools named franklin… </p>

<p>guys can we like petition for this</p>

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<p>I don’t know where you get this impression. Penn is VERY well known internationally. Depends on the kind of people you talk to. I have traveled extensively around the world and most of the college educated crowd in foreign countries know Penn as a top school in the US.</p>

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<p>When I was considering applying to different schools, I spoke to some people who were also applying from other parts of the country/world. </p>

<p>My friend from China had never heard of Penn.</p>

<p>My friend from Brazil had never heard of Penn. </p>

<p>My friend from New York asked me if it was in Pennsylvania. </p>

<p>My friend from Maryland told me they have a great football program and asked me what I thought of Joe Paterno.</p>

<p>For comparison, they had virtually all heard of the other Ivies.</p>

<p>Not that this has any bearing on how good a school Penn is, but it isn’t exactly internationally renowned…</p>

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<p>Don’t worry about eatyourcereal, he’s just bitter from getting rejected so all he does now is bash Penn, making ridiculous statements like how he’d rather go to a state school</p>

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<p>EATYOURCEREAL… you can tell you were either a) talking to idiots or b) making this up. </p>

<p>People who are in the know in NYC know Penn. In the indian community Penn is amazing. Probably right behind HYP and right at Columbia’s level</p>

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<p>Speaking with some of my poorly educated friends in India, the three most common US universities that they’ve heard of are:</p>

<p>Harvard
Stanford
Berkeley</p>

<p>Not even Yale or Princeton.</p>

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<p>^^that’s no surprise, but that has to do with grad school, not undergrad</p>

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<p>what were the previous names?</p>

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<p>Just keep telling yourself that. Hopefully the wounds of rejection will heal over time. I will keep you in my prayers.</p>