<p>do you think if they had a different name that didnt sound like an ordinary school they would attract more applicants/have better recognition. i mean penn is older than princeton! discuss.</p>
<p>As a Penn grad, I've long been happy that people confuse it with a state U. I felt like I wouldn't have gotten in years ago if it got the attention HYPS did. So if prestige is your issue, go elsewhere, because for the rest of your life the average person will probably ask you about Penn State sports.</p>
<p>However, if you're looking for a college with amazing academics and social life, be glad Penn still has a higher admit rate than all ivies other than Cornell!</p>
<p>I don't think would be applicants get deterred over something like a "prestige issue" because of a college's name. They choose Penn because they know it's a great school for what it is, and they know they'll love it there.</p>
<p>I don't think U Penn has a prestige problem, at least not with the current generation. IMO, the name issue is a minor matter. </p>
<p>The bigger challenge for U Penn has been upgrading its image over the last several decades. I think most college observers would agree that they have met that challenge and passed with flying colors. Part of this is due to the fabulous success of Wharton which arguably is the strongest college brand in the USA after HYP. The reality with U Penn is that they have done a super job of elevating the school and the prestige of the place over the last few decades. U Penn now attracts strong students throughout its programs and the caliber of these students is every bit as strong as any Ivy not named HYP. </p>
<p>Now if they could only do something about the neighborhood....</p>
<p>I didn't realize UPENN had a prestige issue... Doesn't it have a sub 20% acceptance rate? Isn't Wharton like the biggest name in business schools? Isn't it in the Ivy League? Yeah... somehow I don't think UPENN has a "prestige issue" anywhere but CC.</p>
<p>There's a difference between a prestige issue and ignorant people who cannot discern between PSU and Penn.</p>
<p>People who don't know the difference between UPenn and Penn State are terribly unsophisticated.</p>
<p>All the people who count in this world know that UPenn is a great school.</p>
<p>most people consider penn to be a "middle ivy" along with columbia. I don't think they are really suffering much</p>
<p>God forbid one attends a 'middling' Ivy...</p>
<p>Does prestige matter that much? Not so much... and I would say that UPenn is very recognized among even the average of people.</p>
<p>"All the people who count in this world know that UPenn is a great school."</p>
<p>Wow, thank god. I am glad that Luckie Starchild posted this. It's always good to know who really counts in the world and who doesn't...</p>
<p>
[quote]
a name that didnt sound like an ordinary school
[/quote]
Wouldn't it be interesting if names actually did correspond to recognition? The ranking would be something like:</p>
<p>King's College
Queens University
Princeton University
Duke University
Earlham College</p>
<p>I don't think Penn is that ordinary of a name. I mean, it could be toothpaste (Colgate) or food (Rice).</p>
<p>I think the OP has a point. Here in the small-town South, I would guess that if you asked the person on the street 98% would be familiar with Penn State but fewer than 50% would know about Penn.</p>
<p>All ppl care on the streets are football. There is a reason why ppl know Penn State more than UPenn because Penn State's BCS rankings in football is phenomenal and their program is renown nationally as they are pretty good team :D</p>
<p>They don't deserve your special attention if they are not intelligent enough to differentiate between Penn and Penn State.</p>
<p>Cornell University and Cornell College :D Now confusion over what is forgivable right there.</p>
<p>LOL IBclass06..
employers (the only people that have opinions of the school you went to that will actually make a difference in your life):
will know about Upenn and its prestige.</p>
<p>When some of my family members were at Penn, the administration was considering changing its name to Franklin University. They were at Penn pre-makeover, and at the time I think a change to Franklin University would have been a pretty desperate move.</p>
<p>Worth noting is that I've met hardly anyone that's actually heard of UPenn. It's not famous.</p>
<p>Now someone's going to say "that's blasphemy!" and I'm going to say, "ok."</p>
<p>Penn isn't really known at all unless you live near the area, know it because of Wharton, work in the corporate world or are a high achieving high school senior. That's why having good sports teams are really important, with Harvard and possibly Yale being the exceptions.</p>
<p>The posters on this site who think that people who don't know about Penn are unsophisticated are living in a bubble. There are a lot of perfectly intelligent people out there who don't know a whole lot about colleges. A lot of people could have been eligible to attend an Ivy, but they chose to go to their state school and get a great education.</p>
<p>Penn>Duke.</p>
<p>There is another thread here "Colleges Least affect by the Economic Downturn".
It will be interesting to see who is most affected.</p>
<p>Back when I was applying, big business and Wall Street were in poor repute, the urban cities were in tough shape, and Penn's reputation and selectivity, relatively, were not what they are today. Since that time Penn rode the wave of Wall Street, hence Wharton, ascendance. And also, I've been told, put mucho $$ into other programs, and the neighborhood. And maybe did some reputation management as well. But through all these it has certainly come up in the world.</p>
<p>But I read someplace that 40% of recent Penn grads went to Wall Street. That's a big number. The university is possibly more identified with Wall Street than any other.</p>
<p>So what emerges from this point, we'll see. Certainly everything is not nearly the same as in the early 70s. But maybe not the same going forward as in the previous 20 years, either.</p>