<p>So I got into the College and announced the big news to all my friends/acquaintances at school and elsewhere. But it turns out that ~many~ of them think Penn is a effing <strong>state school.</strong> A third of the enormous ignoramuses didn't even realize it was an Ivy? </p>
<p>In my own opinion, I always thought Upenn was a great Ivy and definitely not a state school. Granted the name doesn't have the posh of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton(perhaps even Columbia, Brown and Dartmouth), I would still expect people to know about it and its status.</p>
<p>Am I wrong in this respect? Is this lack of name recognition rampant in your locality as well?</p>
<p>and how prestigious is Penn anyways? Up with Brown and Columbia, or with WashU and Georgetown...</p>
<p>It’s a common misunderstanding many people have and has nothing to do with the strength of Penn’s academics. It happens to me and most future Penn students all of the time. Just smile, inform them that it’s not a state school, and don’t take it personally.</p>
<p>I think most people would agree that Penn>Brown, WashU, Georgetown and Penn~=Columbia. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth, USNWR lists Penn as tied for 4th with Stanford, MIT and Caltech, behind only HYP.</p>
<p>Well, I live in Philly, so most times people do know of Penn. But I still often say “University of Pennsylvania” or “UPenn” just to prevent some people from asking the “UPenn or PSU?” question. </p>
<p>Most people in the northeast area of the USA usually know of Penn. And to the employers that matter, I’m pretty sure the know the name Penn too.</p>
<p>And, as a corollary, the people that matter know.</p>
<p>Take heart in the fact that 2/3 of the people in this country also think that man appeared on this planet spontaneously in his present form a few thousand years go. Always consider the source.</p>
<p>^that’s a little scary… lol. Where I am from (NY area), Penn is very well known (and considered on par w/ Columbia and Brown, to answer your question). However, as cuteaccountant mentioned, it might be easier to say University of Pennsylvania to avoid the confusion which arises as a result of the fact that two schools call themselves Penn (aka Penn State and UPenn). Also, Penn State is a very famous school, although it is known widely for its athletics as opposed to its accademics.</p>
<p>Hahahahaha I know some of our thoughts may seem pretentious and pedantic, but come on, Penn is an Ivy! We deserve our share of cumpliments, of “ooh’s” and “aah’s”. I am a foreigner and I could not help not noticing the disappointed faces of my teachers and friends when I told them I was going to UPenn.</p>
<p>Is there any Gossip Girl character moving to Philadelphia on the show’s next season? That would help me a lot!</p>
<p>Haha but yeah…UPenn is not really well-known around here. My classmates were aghast when I told them that I “rejected” the half-scholarship from USC to attend some “state school” in the East Coast.</p>
<p>Pennalum, here’s another corollary the people that matter know.</p>
<p>Take heart in the fact that 1/3 of the people in this country think that all matter in this universe somehow magically appeared from nothing – no creator, no design – notwithstanding the first law of thermodynamics states that matter from nothing can’t occur.</p>
<p>Something tells me that the very people to whom you’re referring include the types of people who actually understand what the laws of thermodynamics really do–and do not–mean, rather than just what they learned in high school physics or from television.</p>
But I still often say “University of Pennsylvania” or “UPenn” just to prevent some people from asking the “UPenn or PSU?” question. </p>