<p>Many people with college degrees in Los Angeles and Orange County areas don't know about Caltech.</p>
<p>Um...why does it matter?</p>
<p>In all honesty man, the fact that you went online to complain about someone not knowing that makes it seem like you really are attention starved.</p>
<p>The fact that I'm replying to this makes me feel even more foolish but whatever.</p>
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While I do agree with this, I must also point out that Americans should at least have some vague knowledge about the things that affect them the most. In a similar way that the top five nations' economic forces affect America, America's tippiest-of-top universities affect it quite a bit too--through the research, the people they produce, etc. In that way, it's no wonder that people know HYPSM the most.
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<p>Most Americans do have more than a vague knowledge about the things that affect them the most. I'd wager the ivy'd halls of our elite education system has little affect on most retail workers, real estate agents, branch bank managers, construction workers or long haul truckers. What does your average American look like?</p>
<p>I think it is funny for the most part. When I told someone I was going to an LAC, they asked why I would pay $49K a year to go to a junior college. This person owns a successful company and is in charge of hiring people. Hmm...</p>
<p>Just one more example why the degree from that exclusive school most people on CC are jonesing for isn't worth the money.</p>
<p>People on this site refuse to believe me, but you'll get a lot more mileage out a degree from large Division 1 public (especially if they're good at either football or basketball) than from all the great teaching, intellectual stimulation, fascinating classmates or one-on-one exposure at any LAC and most of the elite private schools.</p>
<p>To answer the OP: Yes, most Americans don't know a lot about colleges outside of the ones that are really good at football or basketball or HYP. I've heard the Penn vs. Penn state mix up a lot. I've also heard: Brown-is that a school or a sports team? I once asked someone whose young daughter was wearing a Cornell sweatshirt- "Did you go to Cornell?" She said no, someone gave it to her, but "Is that a good school?"</p>
<p>Keep in mind that only about 16% of Americans have bachelors degrees. Always a shocking statistic for people who spend their lives in this microcosmic culture obsessing over this SAT score and that acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Perhaps IPBear's suggestion that the only people who matter are the "successful" ones who will know your college should take a look at Barack Obama's campaign. </p>
<p>The guy went to Columbia and Harvard, but risks losing because Joe Sixpack thinks he's "weird" and different. Never underestimate who you may someday be working for.</p>
<p>Amherst College tends to get mixed with UMass-Amherst, and Dartmouth College tends to get mixed with UMass-Dartmouth. Some people even think Columbia University is in Missouri.</p>
<p>IPBear, that's because in MA people generally call the state universities by their location. If you add "college" to the end, people generally understand that it is not one of the UMass schools.</p>
<p>However, almost everyone knows about Harvard, Yale, and Princeton- though I suspect Harvard has the most name recognition.</p>
<p>This has nothing to do with prestige or the enlargement of male reproductive organs. Yes, I was surprised that they hadn't heard of UCSD since everyone was college educated and lived less than hour from the university, but what really got me was the comment about knowing druggies. It just came across as severely naive. I don't care to be placed on a pedestal, but I do care when people (due to their own ignorance) degrade me.</p>
<p>MLEVINE07,
However, I have heard people ask whether Amherst College and Dartmouth College were the undergraduate colleges at Amherst University and Dartmouth University. It goes to show their ignorance. I also have known people who thought Caltech to California was analogies to the Georgia Institute of Technology to Georgia.</p>
<p>
[quote]
This has nothing to do with prestige or the enlargement of male reproductive organs. Yes, I was surprised that they hadn't heard of UCSD since everyone was college educated and lived less than hour from the university, but what really got me was the comment about knowing druggies. It just came across as severely naive. I don't care to be placed on a pedestal, but I do care when people (due to their own ignorance) degrade me.
[/quote]
what's the difference between this mix-up and pennState/UPenn mix-up?</p>
<p>At my school, for the first time in many years someone got into an ivy...actually two people. One's going to Harvard and the other Dartmouth. Every awards assembly all year there was huge applause for Harvard, while no one ever cheered for Dartmouth. That's what I think is sad...how people think Harvard is the best college ever. (Of course I don't mean it's bad =P)</p>
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[quote]
I also have known people who thought Caltech to California was analogies to the Georgia Institute of Technology to Georgia.
[/quote]
Until this year, I thought University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago are state schools like University of California, University of Texas, University of Wisconsin, etc...</p>
<p>Well, a lot of people think Harvard is better than any other university on earth.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Yes, I was surprised that they hadn't heard of UCSD since everyone was college educated and lived less than hour from the university, but what really got me was the comment about knowing druggies. It just came across as severely naive.
[/quote]
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<p>I would hypothesize a heck of a lot of average Joes in the Chicago metropolitan area aren't familiar with U of Chicago, or if they are familiar with it, confuse it with U of Illinois / Chicago. They're more familiar with NU merely because of Big 10 sports and because NU's campuses are in areas that are more often visited by the average Chicagoan (Evanston and downtown near Mich Avenue), whereas U of Chicago is in an area (Hyde Park) that people don't often go to unless they have an explicit reason to be there. It doesn't reflect poorly on the U of Chicago, certainly.</p>
<p>
[quote]
People on this site refuse to believe me, but you'll get a lot more mileage out a degree from large Division 1 public (especially if they're good at either football or basketball) than from all the great teaching, intellectual stimulation, fascinating classmates or one-on-one exposure at any LAC and most of the elite private schools.
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</p>
<p>Much as I hate to say it, you're probably right.</p>
<p>Middsmith,</p>
<p>Not much difference at all...although Penn State students don't have as poor of a reputation as SDSU kids do.</p>
<p>D always received the same response: Where are you going? Carleton College. Where's that? Minnesota. Get a coat!</p>
<p>Look at it this way, it becomes an opportunity to educate people. I know it's tiresome, but keep upbeat and tell people why XYZ college is so great and how excited you are to go there.</p>