<p>This may sound silly and shallow, but as a Florida resident, I'm wondering how strong the "Penn" pedigree is outside the mid-Atlantic/New England. I mention to people that I'm applying to Penn, and most people in South Florida don't really know what that school is (same with Dartmouth, Chicago, and, to a lesser extent, Columbia). Maybe Columbia gets some prestige boost from Obama attending undergrad there? In your experience, how strong is the Penn cache outside the northeastern US? </p>
<p>Among those in the know, the “cache” of Penn’s CAS is quite strong. Among those not in the know (e.g., the same folks who don’t know about Dartmouth, Chicago, Columbia, etc.), it’s practically nonexistent (and Penn is often confused for Penn State due to that school’s historic status as a national power in college football).</p>
<p>More importantly, among those who you should care about knowing–employers and grad schools–Penn’s CAS is very highly respected as among the top schools in the country, as it should be.</p>
<p>@madglav Hi! I am so so so glad that you posted this! I was in your position last year. I am a member of the Class of 2018 at CAS and I am also from South Florida. I can tell you, that the Penn name is strong, but no where near as strong as Harvard or Yale. I could not tell you how many random students at my school asked me if I was going to Penn State. Believe me, it gets really annoying. However, among adults and employers (whose opinions of you really matter), the Penn name is incredibly strong. Teachers, administrators and professional people (local doctors, lawyers, etc) understand how great of a school Penn is (and that it is an Ivy). There are a lot of Penn alum down here. Please don’t let the ignorance of SoFlo get to you. Its an amazing school and I’m incredibly excited to start this fall. </p>
<p>Also, if my sister (a rising junior) attends Penn, do I count as legacy? Or does that only count if your parent(s) went? </p>
<p>^ See my answer in your other thread.</p>
<p>“Penn is often confused for Penn State due to that school’s historic status as a national power in college football” </p>
<p>The last time I explained to someone Penn didn’t play a Southern football school recently in some bowl game was over 30 years ago. With the Sandusky affair, Penn State has distinguished itself as unique institution not to be confused with any other. </p>
<p>To my knowledge Penn’s name outside of the Northeast is best in California. Chicago and the Midwest is Big 10 country where most people don’t know anything about Eastern private universities.</p>
<p>The word “pedigree” doesn’t fit most of the Ivy League. I assume OP means prestige.</p>