<p>this might just be an issue in pennsylvania but has anyone said this to you?</p>
<p>yes 95% do</p>
<p>Letâs just say Iâm more surprised when people actually recognize the school by its actual identity.</p>
<p>I have not had that problem, but it may be because Iâm going to wharton, which has more name recognition.</p>
<p>^^ lol ouch. Wharton has name recognition in only the business community though. It stops bugging you after a while because you win as far as top notch employers are concerned and itâs easier to socialize without the ivy league stigma associated with HYP. I mean, how often do you want a conversation to be</p>
<p>X: âWhere do you go to school?â
you: âHarvard/equivalentâ
X: âOh, you must be smart.â
you: <em>awkwardly smile as if guilty of a crime</em></p>
<p>funny story: My SIL referenced Penn State and when i corrected her, she says âUPenn, Penn state whatâs the difference?â her daughter is a morehead scholar @ UNC so i responded, âMorehead, Morehouse whatâs the difference?â she didnât mix them up again.</p>
<p>Well, here are a few awkward conversations about Penn that I have had:</p>
<ol>
<li>This is with an aunt </li>
</ol>
<p>Aunt: So where are you going to school (expecting to hear a HYPS school spouted out immediately by me)?</p>
<p>Me: I decided to enroll at Wharton</p>
<p>Aunt: Gives blank stare and finally manages to utter âOh, I thought you were going to a good schoolâ</p>
<p>Me: Well, Wharton is a good schoolâŠI turned down Yale to go here.</p>
<p>Aunt: (As she silently scoffs at my âhorrific college choiceâ) âWell, I would just tell people you got into Yale and leave it at thatâ</p>
<hr>
<p>Me talking with teacher from my school</p>
<p>Teacher: So, where did you decide to go to school? I hear you got into some fine colleges.</p>
<p>Me: Well thank you, I decided to enroll at the University of Pennsylvania- Wharton</p>
<p>Teacher: Just kind of looks around the room as if he didnât know what to say. Then, finally says, âReally, I heard you got into some Ivy League SchoolsâŠwhy didnt you go to one of themâ</p>
<p>Me: UmmâŠUPenn is an ivy league school. </p>
<p>Teacher: âReally, that is stunning! A state school is in the ivy league?!?â</p>
<hr>
<p>This was when my brother was talking to his motherâs friend about my school</p>
<p>Friendâs Mom: So, where did your brother decide to go to school at?</p>
<p>Brother: He decided to go to the University of Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Friendâs Mom: Oh cool, tell me a little about it!</p>
<p>Brother: Its in Philly. Its an Ivy League school. He is in a dual degree program where he can study engineering and business. Its actually on equal footing with Harvard for business and was founded by Ben Franklin.</p>
<p>Friendâs Mom: She laughs and she attempts to correct my brother. âHaha, now Penn State is a good school and all. However, it isnât Ivy League or anything. Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and Princeton are the only schools in that group!â</p>
<h2>Brother: He just sits there silently as he forms a negative opinion of his friendâs mom</h2>
<p>Ok, last one. This was a friend coming up to me at a graduation party and asking me about college:</p>
<p>Friend: Hey! So, you looking forward to college?</p>
<p>Me: Ya, where did you end up enrolling?</p>
<p>Friend: Oh, I am going to Wheaton. </p>
<p>Me: (I actually spent to researching colleges so I was able to respond as follows) Wheaton! Nice, thats a great Christian school! Illinois is such a cool place. Plus, isnât Wheaton in a really nice suburb?</p>
<p>Friend: Proud of the fact that I was able to recognize her school, she smiles widely and tells me how much fun Wheaton is going to be. Then, she focuses in on where I am going. She begins by saying âSo, I hear you got into like Harvard or something, right?â </p>
<p>Me: I actually only got into Stanford and Yale, but I turned them down so that I could go to Wharton. They are giving me an engineering and econ degree.</p>
<p>Friend: Growing a bit confused, she utters out, âOh man that makes sense, your just trying to take it easy in college!â</p>
<p>Me: Umm, no Whartonâs a pretty good school.</p>
<p>Friend: Gottcha, you got scholarships that made Wharton free to attend!</p>
<p>Me: Umm, noâŠYale was actually a bit cheaper than Wharton. Both schools also only give need-based aid.</p>
<p>Friend: Now, she just shrugs this off and walks away no doubt thinking I made the dumbest decision of my life</p>
<p>I donât even go to the school and just telling people where I will be applying has led to these misconceptions. I donât really get itâŠ</p>
<p>Probably 50% of the people where im from confuse it with Penn State.</p>
<p>Me: âIm going to Pennâ
Them: âOh, Penn state?â
Me: âNo, UPenn. Its in Philadelphia.â</p>
<p>Thats pretty much how it goes. Really doesnt matter, though. I doubt too many of us plan to work in our hometowns, or for people who dont know any colleges other than Harvard, [Your] State, and [Their Alma Mater].</p>
<p>Iâve got a buddy who is a Regents Scholar at Cal and we were discussing something similar the other evening. </p>
<p>Me: If you had to choose between Cornell ILR and Penn Annenberg, where would you go?
Buddy: Cornell for sure!
Me: How come, Penn is also a terrific Ivy.
Buddy: Totally, but Iâve met some dumbass recruiters on the West Coast that confuse it with Penn St.</p>
<p>If itâs been said once, itâs been said a thousand timesâŠthose who need to know, know.</p>
<p>More bad newsâŠDD goes to Pitt and people think it is the Ivy league school. Sometimes, I donât really want to correct them.</p>
<p>I get this reaction ALL the time. So I always say âUniversity of Pennsylvaniaâ when Iâm asked where Iâm going instead of saying Penn. And EVERYBODY still says âOh, Penn Stateâ and when I say âNo, itâs not a state school itâs in Phillyâ I still get blank and confused stares. </p>
<p>It bothers me most because my peers think Iâm being snobby when I correct the Penn State confusion, but I donât think itâs wrong to correct the mistake. Iâm not saying Iâm better than anybody at Penn State, but I donât want to claim a school that I donât attend.</p>
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<p>I prbly handle the Penn state vs. Penn thing a little poorly. I normally indicate that no, UPenn is not a state school in Pennsylvania; rather, it is an ivy league school in Philly.</p>
<p>but upenn is in pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Clerk: Love the shirt! My sister goes to Penn State.</p>
<p>Me: Yeah, itâs really great. </p>
<hr>
<p>Doctor: <em>filling out insurance forms</em> Youâre a full time student at U of Arizona?</p>
<p>Me: No, thatâs my brother. Iâm at the University of Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Doctor: Is that Penn State?</p>
<p>Me: No, itâs where you didnât do your residency. </p>
<p>(haha jk about the last line)</p>
<p>Itâs pretty obnoxious considering that part of the fun of getting into a great school is basking in the recognition. Be honest, you know itâs trueâŠwe worked hard to get in! But I quote ilovebagels: âThose who need to know, know.â</p>
<p>I never thought Iâd say this, but I want to buy the âNot Penn Stateâ shirt lol</p>
<p>Haha my dad always says:
âIf they donât know the difference between Penn and Penn State, they donât need to knowâ</p>
<p>When my dentist asked me where I was going to college, I told him âthe University of Pennsylvania.â He said, âwhy are you going all the way over there?â (Iâm from the west coast) or something of that nature. He looked at me like I was stupid for going so far away. I told him âitâs a really good school.â He still looked confused. </p>
<p>At my sisterâs graduation party, one of her really good friends she grew up with that I hadnât seen in a long time was there. I heard he was going to Brown next year. He came up to talk to me about college and I mentioned that it was great that he was going to Brown, and that I considered going there. He asked me where I was going. I told him âthe University of Pennsylvania.â He looked at me with a blank stare like he had never heard of that school before, and he was a high school senior going to Brown!? That was troubling to me. He gave this look like âif you are going there, why do you think you would have any option of going to Brown?â LOL. He was entering a fellow Ivy League school!!</p>
<p>^^ The exact same thing happened to me with a girl going to Brown yesterday. She asked where I was going and I said âUniversity of Pennsylvaniaâ and she asked me what campus. And I said âNot Penn State, UPenn. Its in Philly.â She just said oh and gave me a confused look. That bothered me because it was obvious she thought she was going to a better school than I was. She clearly had never heard of UPenn and had no idea that it too was Ivy League.</p>
<p>Haa I love these stories. I applied to Wharton/bought some UPenn sweatpants on a visit there. The pants just said âPennâ on them. I was wearing them at school once, and I heard some kids talking about me, they were like:</p>
<p>Kid 1: Hes wearing Penn State sweatpants
Kid 2: But I thought he was going to an Ivy League school?
Me: Its UPenn, it is an Ivy League school, I just applied there
Kid 1: Ya, but it still means Penn State right⊠its just like two different campusesâŠ
<strong>facepalm</strong></p>