Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:07     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What about people that don’t know what Barnard is or that it is an Ivy League school and part of Columbia? This is a weird one too. Almost like a litmus test for your education level.

You just don’t realize how you come off do you?


People who are not in the world of ivy and private schools may not know. That doesn’t make them uneducated. Maybe they aren’t very “worldly” but it also makes you a snob to judge them for it
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:02     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:My child’s first choice school is Penn. I had mentioned that it would be a reach for him and that usually 1 kid gets in from our school. At some point, I realized that they thought I was referring to Penn State. When I mentioned UPenn was an Ivy League school, they seemed confused. These are Americans. Do people really not know the difference????


99.99% of the world is not aware these schools exist. I'd say about 90% of Americans who know these schools exist do not know the difference between them.

So you're reaching, OP. Let it go already. I'm sure you don't know the difference between lots of other schools with similar names, and if you do, you're part of a minuscule of people obsessed with American colleges, which doesn't reflect particularly well on you.

Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 10:58     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:My child’s first choice school is Penn. I had mentioned that it would be a reach for him and that usually 1 kid gets in from our school. At some point, I realized that they thought I was referring to Penn State. When I mentioned UPenn was an Ivy League school, they seemed confused. These are Americans. Do people really not know the difference????


They really do not. My friend went to Penn and people constantly though it was Penn State.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 10:55     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Since Trump and Musk went to UPenn, you would think more people would know the difference. Employers know and that is the most important group.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 10:03     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:People get Georgetown, George Washington, and George Mason confused. People get Penn state and Penn wrong. People get Dickinson and Fairley Dickinson wrong. People are largely uneducated.


I don’t think that makes people “uneducated.” There are thousands of universities in the country and except for Harvard, most people have not heard of most of them. People in Pennsylvania and the East coast will know the difference between all the Penns.

And I had never heard of “Fairley Dickinson” and I have an advanced degree so I just googled it. Even if you spell it correctly (Fairleigh Dickinson), it’s not a school that I ever heard of. I have a vague notion that the other Dickinson exists and is a liberal arts school.


All of this, except that I think most people have also heard of Yale and likely Princeton.

I had also never heard of Farleigh Dickinson or maybe thought it was the full name of the other Dickinson. This sounds obnoxious, but I had the opposite problem: I was only ever looking at schools more prestigious; I actually have limited knowledge of schools outside the Top 100 that aren’t good at sports.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 10:02     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Maybe colleges should come up with more unique names. It's on THEM if there are two colleges in every state with similar names.

I have no idea which Penn is which, which Ohio is which, which "state name" is which, and I don't care to know. It's just not interesting to me at all, unless my child attends!

- parent of adult kids and teens.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 09:59     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:But that's just name confusion, OP. People can't remember which one is referred to as "Penn." No one confuses the actual schools.
no, they think it is the SAME school. That there is only one.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, my sister went to Penn, people still ask her if she misses Happy Valley - and that includes my PA relatives.


That’s embarrassing- Penn is a good school, Penn state is just blah blah- I mean they will take anyone.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 09:57     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:They were probably pretending not to know the difference because they knew it would annoy you, OP. I might have to borrow that for some people.


Oh this would make me really happy if true.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 09:55     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:My child’s first choice school is Penn. I had mentioned that it would be a reach for him and that usually 1 kid gets in from our school. At some point, I realized that they thought I was referring to Penn State. When I mentioned UPenn was an Ivy League school, they seemed confused. These are Americans. Do people really not know the difference????


Yes, people get them confused. My grad school roommate did undergrad at Penn State. It would infuriate her when people would call it "Penn."

People mix up School U and School-State all the time. It's just hysterical (to me) that Penn State is the flagship and Penn is Ivy league.

~NC State alum, and no we're not the same as UNC!
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 09:53     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
I actually think it's more embarrassing to walk around thinking everyone you know will know exactly what you mean when you say Penn. It's seems kind of arrogant and elitist and not in touch with real people.

I'm more concerned that your kid presumably has favorite school either through touring or researching or visiting the website and you guys can't seem to get on the same page about what the school is. Which school is their first choice? And are they a Junior, or like, 10?

Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 09:50     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
You’re just going to have to carefully annunciate each syllable of the University of Pennsylvania each and every time you mention it, OP. Just to be safe.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 09:49     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:Under 40% of Americans have a 4 year college degree. The education level in this country is an embarrassment.


I don’t think more than 40% probably need a college degree in this day and age. Certainly not just to be able to stroke the ego of insecure parents like the OP.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 09:49     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:But that's just name confusion, OP. People can't remember which one is referred to as "Penn." No one confuses the actual schools.
no, they think it is the SAME school. That there is only one.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, my sister went to Penn, people still ask her if she misses Happy Valley - and that includes my PA relatives.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 09:47     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
My oldest child is a college junior at George Washington and I still have no idea which Penn is which, OP. It's legitimately confusing. My second child will probably not attend either Penn institution, so it's one less thing to clutter my brain with
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 09:47     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Under 40% of Americans have a 4 year college degree. The education level in this country is an embarrassment.