Is Penn State Ivy League? (Comprehensive Report)

We are glad to answer a very interesting question and clarify all the points – Is Penn State Ivy League?

Is Penn State Ivy League?

Before we dive into all the details, it is important to state that there is the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania State University. Both are different colleges at different locations in Pennsylvania.

The University of Pennsylvania Vs. Penn State University

University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) is a member of the Ivy League, whereas Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) is not.

University of Pennsylvania vs Penn State University

UPenn is normally called just Penn, which makes it sound almost identical to Penn State.

The Ivy League consists of only private universities. Penn State is a public school.

The University of Pennsylvania and Ivy League

Benjamin Franklin, the famous diplomat, author, inventor, and scientist, founded the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in 1740. UPenn is one of eight private universities known as the Ivy League. UPenn has more than 21,000 students, including 4,500 international students. Over 4,700 faculty members teach at Penn.

The University of Pennsylvania is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in the US and the world.

Penn’s business school, Wharton, is the oldest business school in the US and has been ranked #1 by Business Week, Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times magazines.

In the past two decades, Penn has been home to 8 MacArthur Award recipients, 4 National Medal of Science recipients, 4 Nobel Prize recipients, and 2 Pulitzer Prize recipients.

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What is the Ivy League?

What is Ivy League?

Founded in the 1700s, the Ivy League is a group of eight American universities. They are well-known for their academic excellence and outstanding faculty.

The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term Ivy League is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools as a group of elite colleges with connotations of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and social elitism.

The University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale, Cornell, Brown, and Princeton are members of the Ivy League.

Ivy League universities are regarded as prestigious and are ranked among the best in the world.

So is Penn State Ivy League? Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) is not a member of the Ivy League, but the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) is.

Which are the Ivy League schools?

Here’s the full list, along with their current US News rankings. You can see how UPenn compares with the other Ivies:

Ivy League University US News Ranking
Princeton University 1
Harvard University 2
Columbia University 2
Yale University 5
University of Pennsylvania 8
Dartmouth College 13
Brown University 14
Cornell University 17

Is Penn State Ivy League?

People frequently mix up Penn State University and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn).

Despite their similar names, Penn State and UPenn are different institutions. One is public, while the other is private. One is located throughout Pennsylvania, while the other is located in the heart of Philadelphia. Also, one is an Ivy League institution, while the other is a big college in the US.

Penn State is not an Ivy League school; UPenn is.

Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Brown, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth, and UPenn comprise the Ivy League. What began as an athletic conference in 1954 has come to be associated with social and educational prestige.

Penn State is also a large public university, with nearly 100,000 students enrolled across all 24 of its campuses.

UPenn is a private Ivy League university in the heart of Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania State University is not an Ivy League institution (that honor belongs to the University of Pennsylvania), but it is a highly regarded public university. It is consistently ranked among the top 25 public schools in the United States, particularly for information technology, business, engineering, and criminal justice.


Is Penn State Ivy League? We hope we have been able to clarify the point. Penn State is not a member of the Ivy League; UPenn (University of Pennsylvania) is.

We hope you found this article clear and precise. Do well to share this information with others. Thank you.

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