<p>Why in the world doesn't Penn just change its name? Nobody can ever differentiate between Penn and Penn State and it gets really frustrating. Every other Ivy is named after its founder. Why couldn't Penn just be Franklin University? It seems like a simple fix that would clear up the confusion. University of Pennsylvania just sounds way too much like a state school.</p>
<p>Does anybody else get really annoyed when you tell people you're going to Penn and they respond with "oh, I have a cousin at Penn State. He loves it"?</p>
<p>YES, i know exactly what you mean. I always have to subtley add in the fact that penn’s an ivy. It gets to be such a hassle when you want people to understand how psyched you are to be going to “penn state”</p>
<p>I agree. Although I think the university should change its name to Wharton University. To those who say what will they call the “The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia”? Simple: Wharton Business School, much like Columbia Business School, for example. </p>
<p>Also, the Wharton brand has name recognition superior to any Ivy, save Harvard and Yale. In Asia, when you speak to a lot of people, it seems they think Wharton is the university. So, it wouldn’t change a thing for them. :p</p>
<p>PS: I don’t think a name change will ever happen, regardless of how spectacular a failure the “Penn” brand campaign has been.</p>
<p>Well, given that Penn has been known as “University of Pennsylvania” for over 220 years now, it’s kind of a habit. :)</p>
<p>And not every other Ivy is named after its founder–Princeton is named after the town it’s in. Too bad there’s already a Philadelphia University. And then, of course, there’s Columbia (as in the antiquated reference to America)–how lame is that?</p>
<p>And actually, come to think of it, most of the other Ivies aren’t even named after their founders. Harvard, Yale, Brown, and Dartmouth are named after guys who were involved in their funding after they were founded. So Cornell is really the only Ivy named after its founder.</p>
<p>In any event, it’s part of the Penn tradition to be confused with Penn State, or just assumed to be a state university. Think of it as something unique to Penn–an interesting little quirk. We’re like the incredibly wealthy guy who drives around in a beat-up old pickup and a tee-shirt and jeans, so people won’t know how wealthy he really is. We’re too cool for some pretentious sounding name like Harvard or Princeton.</p>
<p>And besides, those who need to know (employers, grad schools, etc.), do. ;)</p>
<p>^ Well, technically, the university has tried a number of brand campaigns (“U of P”, “Penn”, etc.), so they’re aware this is a problem, and not just a fun quirk. </p>
<p>Also, while employers in the U.S. might be able to differentiate between the two, during an interview this january with a mid-sized but well-known firm in London, I ran into the same issue. I clarified it immediately, though, so there’s one less person who doesn’t know the difference now. :p</p>
<p>^ The “Penn” branding campaign has been fairly successful (just look at all of the Penn clothing and gear in the bookstore, and every page of the web site), although the pesky “UPenn” URL for the web site has confused things a bit for Penn neophytes. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Just google Franklin University and you’ll see something interesting.</p>
<p>I agree with 45 Percenter. I didn’t particularly like the name at first, but now I’m cool with it. It has a long history and changing it would only show insecurity and probably cause more confusion. Let’s also leave the Wharton name for business people.</p>
<p>But I’m not a formal Penn student yet, so you guys can decide. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>If this thread is any indication of the wisdom and intellect of these posters, then other applicants will have less to worry about. </p>
<p>It reminds me of a conversation I had once where a young lady said she didn’t like any black and white movies because they looked “old”.</p>
<p>Hey bimbop: If you’re lucky enough to have a Penn diploma one day, I can guarantee you that if you run into people who can’t distinguish Penn from Penn State that the latter won’t be very consequential to you.</p>
<p>My whole point is that I really like that people don’t know about Penn. It avoids people judging you based on where you go to college. BUT, I would rather people just said “oh, I’ve never heard of the university of pennsylvania” instead of “oh, you’re going to penn state”. I like the fact that the college is obscure but just dislike the fact that it is confused so easily with another. I couldn’t imagine how upset I would be if I went to Cornell College in Iowa or Columbia College in Chicago - that would be 50x more annoying.</p>
<p>Haha — sorry that I missed the tone of the OP. I humbly withdraw my assertions about everyone here. I did rather overstate things, no?</p>
<p>But you’re right – being obscure can be a blessing. I rarely divulge my HYP pedigree – because in most circles, people don’t know what to do with it – fumble, get defensive, whatever. Not being arrogant but Ivy grads, in most circumstances, are rarities and others’ stereotypes of us come to the fore. I’d rather people not know my alma mater and just engage me as a person rather than as “an Ivy grad”.</p>
<p>Yeah, and here’s something else. The only people who care about “Ivy” anything are:</p>
<p>a) people in high school
b) their parents
c) people enrolled in ivy league institutions
d) alumni of said institutions whose lives peaked in college</p>
<p>Beyond that, no one cares whether or not the institution you attended was a member of the ivy league athletic conference. NO ONE.</p>
<p>Try just graciously smiling and not feeling the need to point out it’s an Ivy, which is just an athletic conference anyway! Pompous asses are not endearing. Successful intellectuals with humility are.</p>
<p>If I can offer a counter argument to tortoise’s assertions about Ivy students and alumni: </p>
<p>I find that most students and alumni of Ivy schools quickly realize that the hype or stereotypes or “prestige” quickly loses its glamour and shine. I’ve found that non-Ivy people invariably tend to make a bigger deal about Ivy alums than ourselves. </p>
<p>Sure, a few pompous fools strut around but mostly, people tend to be humbled by the institutions they attended and the quality of their peers and peers’ accomplishments. It levels us out – in a good way.</p>
<p>T26, nobody cares. Really. “Non-Ivy people” don’t give rip either, much to the dismay of some “Ivy people,” who’ve made the mistake of basing their college decision an institution’s “ivy” status. </p>
<p>Yes, the issue looms very large in high school and, again, to those who work so hard to land a spot in an ivy league school. But what you soon find is that the “ivy badge” means something only to those who don’t have anything more meaningful in life over which to obsess. </p>
<p>In other words, the only people “out there” who care are those people who aren’t really doing much with their lives.</p>
<p>I say this, btw, as the product of three “elite” institutions (UChicago, Stanford, Harvard) married to a diehard Yalie (college and law). </p>
<p>Once again: Ivy league “status” means absolutely nothing to anyone of consequence. Those who argue otherwise are traveling in the marginalia of this world.</p>
<p>I speak of “ivy league” status, per se. College networks, on the other hand, can be hugely important. But the most “robust” networks are not limited to the Ivy institutions; in fact, several non-Ivies–from Williams and Amherst, to UChicago, MIT, Stanford, CalTech, and others–offer opportunities for the sort of life-long, life-enhancing, career-building relationships that match and, arguably, exceed those offered by all but HYP.</p>
<p>What’s the point then tortoise? People care about the “robust” college networks and the like - that comes with attending or graduating from such schools. Call them the Ivies or Ivy-like or “elite” schools like Stanford, UChicago and all the ones you mentioned … and more.
Something once said that people don’t fully appreciate what they have - because to them “it’s common”.</p>
<p>The “athletic conference” has come to mean much more than just that to most people - that most don’t even know or remember it’s an athletic conference.</p>
<p>As an aside, which athletic conference is our beloved UChicago (or U of C as Chicagoans still call it - locally, that is). I don’t quite recall. LOL</p>
<p>A month or so ago I got a letter from the tennis coach of Cornell College, but at first glance I just saw the words “tennis” and “Cornell”. I mistakenly thought I was being recruited by Cornell University for about 10 seconds until I read through the letter and realized it was from Cornell College instead. I bet a Cornell College alum would cringe at my story…</p>
And then, of course, there’s Columbia (as in the antiquated reference to America)–how lame is that?</p>