So, I already submitted my application and writing supplements. However, a friend of mine told me after that I should never user the term “UPenn” on the writing supplements since they call themselves only as “Penn.” The thing is, on my writing supplement I wrote UPenn 5 times and Penn 6 times… Should I contact the office of admission and try to correct this? How much of a deal is this?
Not a big deal. Do not contact Admission office for frivolous things. They are very busy.
It really does not matter. Just leave it as it is since you already turned the supplements in. Good luck! 
@f2000sa Well, I am a bit worried because in this post
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/616684-penn-or-upenn-p1.html
someone said,“An admissions officer I know once told me that she rejects most people who have “UPenn” in their essays instead of “Penn” because that demonstrates a severe lack of knowledge about the university and its culture.” So that kinda made me worry. Of course, he/she might be lying… but I have no way to know.
@StevoMeepo I hope so. Thanks!!
As a Penn alum, the "UPenn " thing drives me crazy! I think UPenn arose because when the internet first arrived, Penn’s address became UPenn.edu and it just stuck. Years ago, the University of Pennsylvania was referred to “Penn” or “U of P” (nobody uses the latter anymore.)
HOWEVER, I would estimate that 95% of applicants refer to Penn as UPenn so I wouldn’t worry at all. There is no way an admission officer is going to reject you for writing UPenn. Now, had you written Penn State… (kidding!)
Hmm. I used UPenn throughout my essay :)) Ah well, you live and you learn.
They would be silly to reject promising applicants for something that tiny - really don’t worry
They would be silly to reject promising applicants for something that tiny - really don’t worry
It is no big deal at all. Penn admissions will not care.
They are used to seeing UPenn written because they have to use it for the url. Many freshman say UPenn for a few days, until they realize that no one else does that. Sort of like if you showed up at Yale calling it Yale U. Everyone understands you, and they know that you must be accomplished or you would not be there, but it does remind them that you are new.
Please don’t spend another second worrying about it, but when talking about the school in the future practice saying “Penn” to sound like the other people in the Penn community.
I used UPenn and Penn interchangeably when I was applying and I was accepted. Definitely do not worry about it. Obviously you should use Penn from now on-- but it 10000% does not matter which you use (and I still sometimes say UPenn when people ask where I went to school. But Penn is the appropriate moniker).
@desie1 made a great observation. lol
A real problem would be if your essay talked about how much you enjoyed watching the football team in the Rose Bowl this year, how you really wanted a school with 40k undergraduates, how much you loved your visit to Happy Valley, and how you can’t stand people from the Ivy League. lol
^^ You forgot to mention sticky buns, cornfields, no diversity, no local music, no decent restaurants, etc.
Not a big deal at all. I bet you even most people affiliated with Penn and the Ivy League also use UPenn when talking to people not very familiar with Penn and top schools.
Saying Penn instead of UPenn however does signal that the person is quite knowledgeable about top schools and how everything works and can be a sign of extra sophistication/ understanding.