Caltech vs MIT
Harvard vs Yale
College rivalries seem to be very interesting. Which colleges are Penn`s biggest rivals, similar to a Caltech MIT rivalry? Also, does Penn have any pranking traditions with other universities?
I`ve heard about the Penn Princeton rivalry, was curious to know if there are any others
Penn and Princeton are sports rivalry. However, They are very different schools. Princeton is more on liberal arts side. Penn is more pre-professional.
Yep I`m talking about general college rivalries.
In general, the Ivies tend to view themselves as different from one another, rather than rivals who are in direct competition. When we visited most of them, they really did not speak negatively about each other except there was a bit of that at Yale slamming Harvard. They tend to focus on telling you the benefits of attending their institution instead.
Im not talking about serious ‘enemies’. Im talking about just rivals, universities which tend to have more competition with each other. Something like the England Australia cricket rivalry
RE: “Princeton is more on liberal arts side. Penn is more pre-professional.”
Agree. Actually, Princeton is a pretty poor excuse for a “university.” Unlike EVERY other Ivy, which all have at least one professional graduate school, Princeton has none. Nothing. Essentially, Princeton is a souped-up Amherst.
Penn’s main rival is Princeton. But, it’s true, the Penn-Princeton rivalry is pretty much restricted to Basketball. It does have some spillover into one’s general college experience at both schools-- but not in any significant way. Princeton is often more focused on making the Harvard-Yale Couple into a Throuple than fighting with Penn. Though they do have their share of “Puck Fenn” shirts… But Harvard and Yale are partially defined by their rivalry which extends to every facet of their university lives whereas Penn and Princeton are not nearly as defined by theirs.
That being said, the ivies are all kind of in competition with one another and comparing themselves to each other. When students and administrators think of their ivy, they will inevitably use the other ivies as benchmarks for comparison. For example, when acceptance rates come out in march/april, the Ivy newspapers all report their own acceptance rate and how it stacks up to the other 7 schools (+ Stanford usually). When the endowment numbers are released, again the Ivies compare themselves to each other. When changes in financial aid policies or admissions policies are discussed at one Ivy, they’re usually considered and discussed at another. For example:
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/10/7/penn-all-grant-financial/
http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2015/10/14/reporting-endowment-return-76-percent-columbias-endowment-climbs-96-billion
http://thedartmouth.com/2014/03/28/college-accepts-11-5-percent-of-applicants/
Since all 8 schools are constantly competing in athletics, research, academics, funding, etc. all 8 have a little bit of a rivalry with the others. But at the end of the day, it’s not like the Caltech-MIT rivalry.
Also, that’s a preposterous statement-- Princeton is an outstanding UNIVERSITY. You don’t need a professional school to be a University. Furthermore, Princeton’s graduate programs, like it’s undergraduate program, are some of the finest in the world.
“Essentially, Princeton is a souped-up Amherst.”
Well, that is a hell of a compliment. You must really admire Princeton. 
MIT-CalTech rivalry? Worked there as did my husband (Professor CS). Rivalry? Never heard of it. I guess our heas were in thwe clouds.
The admins of the Ivies meet and cooperate on academic standards, rules for admissions, discussion of applicants to the 8 schools. Collaberation from what I have seen.
But I am not trying to contradict other posters. They probably know more than I.
I think I wasnt too clear in my question. I`m talking about friendly rivalries. Not some cut throat want to kill each other enmity.
Also, Caltech MIT have a massive rivalry. Theyve been pranking each other since quite a few years now - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caltech%E2%80%93MIT_rivalry