<p>Okay, I can't take credit for this idea, because some Yalie hopeful was doing it on Yale's forum...but I think it would also be great if some current students, or people that visited UPenn and other top schools could explain the differences or their likes and dislikes...</p>
<p>Another couple of questions...although UPenn is an Ivy...why do I feel like many people seem to not know about its ivy status. Why is Penn (and like Columbia too I guess..) never mentioned in the same category as HYP??</p>
<p>The Ivies other than HYP are known as the “lower Ivies” because of their somewhat less prestigious reputation and their slightly higher acceptance rates. I find this grouping ridiculous, because after a certain point it won’t really matter what the acceptance rate is, you have one of the best schools in the country.</p>
<p>Some people don’t know UPenn is an Ivy because it has a state school-esque name. University of Georgia, University of Arkansas, etc.</p>
<p>Also, I feel like the name “Penn” really makes people think, “oh Penn, what other school do I know that has a Penn in it? OH! PENN STATE!” People are just stupid/uninformed like that.</p>
<p>The people that truly MATTER are the ones that know UPenn is an amazing school (employers, grad schools, etc.). It’s usually the people who don’t know much about the top universities that think of Penn State instead.</p>
<p>Thanks! I never though of that…I think “lower Ivy” status is ridiculous, too; I feel that any student who can get into a school with less than say…a 20 or 25 percent acceptance is an outstanding individual…
Yeah…the I totally understand the whole Penn State thing…I’m a senior at a public school and it’s like:
“where do you want to go to college”
“well…I’m applying to a bunch of schools, but Penn is really high on the list”
“Woah! they have good football there!”
“No…University of Pennsylvania”
“Oh, what’s that”
“The Ivy…<em>facepalm</em>”
“Waiiiit…Penn is an Ivy league school???”
*Sigh</p>
<p>I don’t even bother trying to tell people the truth about Penn. I mean I would hope they would know its a freaking ivy league school and according to USNWR (I know I know) ranked 5th in the country, but whatever. I feel arrogant telling people that it is an ivy league school, oh well.</p>
<p>Haha…I think you know what I meant but I apologize anyways…anyone who’s commented on this thread and is a penn student…can you tell me why you chose Penn? How do you view Penn compared to some other big name/ivy schools?</p>
<p>I don’t know, I just had this gut feeling that I would really like it at Penn when I visited (something I didn’t feel at other East coast campuses; somehow it just felt odd or artificial)</p>
<p>I like that I can easily take courses in any of the undergraduate schools (and even graduate schools) and that I’m not limited to my department or school. I like that the school is big enough that there’s tons of things going on all the time, and lots of opportunities to get involved in research in all sorts of fields (e.g. I’ve worked under profs in microbiology, statistics/criminology, and neurobiology) and at the same time, it’s small enough that you’re not lost in a sea of people. Location-wise, it’s close to Center City where there’s tons of great restaurants, but at the same time it’s isolated enough that there’s a good campus feel to it.</p>