Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:43     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It wasn’t until after I graduated from an Ivy League school that I knew that “Cal” and “Berkeley” are the same school.
Ivy League schools can be as far off some people’s radar as California schools were off of mine.


Really? I had no idea.


You didn’t know Cal was Berkeley?

I think another phenomenon this points to is the ridiculous obsession with going OOS for “prestige,” not realizing that state college systems are inherently regional and serve the good of the state. So yeah, I knew Cal was Berkeley because I grew up there, but totally reasonable if you are in DC and didn’t know that.


Californian living in DC. If someone doesn’t know Cal is Berkeley, I figure they are mildly uneducated or first gen. Just like I would feel the same way if they didn’t know the difference between Penn and Penn State or that Brown is in the Ivy League, or that Barnard is part of Columbia, etc.


Meh, I don’t think that. But if they are posing about how their kid is applying to “UCB” and complaining about how hard OOS admissions are, then I do think they are privilege grasping idiots.

Keeping track of the arcana of prestige (like, who tf cares if Brown is in the Ivy League?) has nothing to do with education.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:43     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
For most kids whether you go to Penn or UPenn, the outcome is about the same
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:39     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It wasn’t until after I graduated from an Ivy League school that I knew that “Cal” and “Berkeley” are the same school.
Ivy League schools can be as far off some people’s radar as California schools were off of mine.


Really? I had no idea.


You didn’t know Cal was Berkeley?

I think another phenomenon this points to is the ridiculous obsession with going OOS for “prestige,” not realizing that state college systems are inherently regional and serve the good of the state. So yeah, I knew Cal was Berkeley because I grew up there, but totally reasonable if you are in DC and didn’t know that.


Californian living in DC. If someone doesn’t know Cal is Berkeley, I figure they are mildly uneducated or first gen. Just like I would feel the same way if they didn’t know the difference between Penn and Penn State or that Brown is in the Ivy League, or that Barnard is part of Columbia, etc.


DP. I know all of those things listed in your last sentence, but I didn’t know Cal and Berkeley were the interchangeable. Growing up on the East coast, I’ve just never much paid attention to things in California I guess.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:39     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????


It's ridiculous how people don't know, don't care and confuse them
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:36     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It wasn’t until after I graduated from an Ivy League school that I knew that “Cal” and “Berkeley” are the same school.
Ivy League schools can be as far off some people’s radar as California schools were off of mine.


Really? I had no idea.


You didn’t know Cal was Berkeley?

I think another phenomenon this points to is the ridiculous obsession with going OOS for “prestige,” not realizing that state college systems are inherently regional and serve the good of the state. So yeah, I knew Cal was Berkeley because I grew up there, but totally reasonable if you are in DC and didn’t know that.


Californian living in DC. If someone doesn’t know Cal is Berkeley, I figure they are mildly uneducated or first gen. Just like I would feel the same way if they didn’t know the difference between Penn and Penn State or that Brown is in the Ivy League, or that Barnard is part of Columbia, etc.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:32     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Why is it a sign of my own education or intelligence to know all the details about other colleges and universities that no one in my family has or will attend?
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:30     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It wasn’t until after I graduated from an Ivy League school that I knew that “Cal” and “Berkeley” are the same school.
Ivy League schools can be as far off some people’s radar as California schools were off of mine.


Really? I had no idea.


You didn’t know Cal was Berkeley?

I think another phenomenon this points to is the ridiculous obsession with going OOS for “prestige,” not realizing that state college systems are inherently regional and serve the good of the state. So yeah, I knew Cal was Berkeley because I grew up there, but totally reasonable if you are in DC and didn’t know that.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:27     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:Do they have a child applying to college soon? Where did they go to college? Where did they grow up? Where did you grow up? What is their socioeconomic background, and what is yours?

I think it is myopic of you to assume that other people would prioritize knowledge like this when it might not be relevant to their lives at all. For most people, the difference between Penn and Penn State likely has no bearing on their lives at all.


This.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:24     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:It wasn’t until after I graduated from an Ivy League school that I knew that “Cal” and “Berkeley” are the same school.
Ivy League schools can be as far off some people’s radar as California schools were off of mine.


Really? I had no idea.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:24     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:A sign that the obsessions with prestige is a narrow community.


+1.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:23     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
lol OP. Take this as a sign as to what name-brand colleges actually offer as a value proposition. Not that many people care about U Penn v Penn State.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:20     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
Anonymous wrote:It wasn’t until after I graduated from an Ivy League school that I knew that “Cal” and “Berkeley” are the same school.
Ivy League schools can be as far off some people’s radar as California schools were off of mine.
Or how about “Boalt Hall”? Everyone has blind spots. Life’s too short to worry about them all.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:17     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
It is just the name. In most cases, "University of (state)" is a public university.

Not everyone is Ivy aware/obsessed.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:14     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
It wasn’t until after I graduated from an Ivy League school that I knew that “Cal” and “Berkeley” are the same school.
Ivy League schools can be as far off some people’s radar as California schools were off of mine.
Anonymous
Post 01/17/2026 11:12     Subject: Not knowing the difference between UPenn and Penn State
I grew up in New England and was very aware of and had friends at all the ivy schools, seven sisters and other prestigious east coast schools as well as places like UCLA and Stanford etc. but to be honest schools like Chicago and Duke and Vanderbilt and Northwestern were never on my radar. Doesn’t mean I’m stupid.