Before you request that transfer application to Stanford or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, you might want to listen to what the experts have to say about Penn's drop in the U.S. News & World Report college rankings.
Their overall message: It's just not that big of a deal.
Penn dropped to number seven when the magazine came out with its annual rankings of the most prestigious national universities on August 18. The school had been at No. 4 for the previous two years.
Penn's drop was due to lower assessments from peer institutions and a lower average SAT score for its students, according to Michael London, president of College Coach, the largest admissions counseling service in the country.
London said that the slight drop should not harm Penn's reputation.
"Penn has an excellent reputation. Unless they do poorly, no one is going to care. If [the rankings] say Penn is a horrible school, its going to raise some eyebrows," he said.
Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson agreed that the change in rank will not have a significant influence on Penn's standing.
"We understand that rankings are fluid," he said. "Wherever [Penn] moves it seems to be the fact that we're still No. 4 in the Ivy League, which is a very healthy sign."
He added that the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - both ranked at No. 4 - offer significantly different undergraduate programs with an emphasis on the sciences.
Penn and those schools do not generally compete for the same types of applicants, Stetson said.
Joan Koven, an educational consultant in Haverford, said the drop has not affected Penn's prestige or academic experience.
"Penn 'spoke' several years ago with its high U.S. News rating, and I think no matter what its numerical value is this year, it has earned a new rank," she said.
Experts say too much emphasis should not be placed on the rankings.
Vice President for Public Affairs at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities Roland King said there have been a number of studies that show rankings play a fairly minimal role in where a student decides to go to school.
"Schools give an overemphasis . on rankings," he said. "What's needed is matching the right student to the right institutions."
Still, experts like Steven Grossman, a Washington, D.C.-based educational consultant, noted that factors like crime in Philadelphia could have played a role in the drop.
"I think it's naive to assume that all the things that go on . don't affect rankings," he said.
However, London said, as long as Penn remains in the top 10 schools, its status should remain the same.
And reactions from several Penn parents and students supported the assertion by London and others that the drop hasn't really changed many people's impression of the school.
Incoming Engineering freshman Eric Tieniber said he has always wanted to go to Penn and does not really pay attention to college rankings.
New Penn parent Jim Goldman said he thought seven was a very solid number for Penn.
"Many people treated the number four with a certain amount of skepticism," he said. Number seven "is more realistic."
University President Amy Gutmann said slightly larger class sizes and slightly fewer faculty members could have contributed to the drop. However, she opined, there is always a five-place margin of error in the rankings.
"We're proud we're ranked high in U.S. News and World Report," Gutmann said. "That said, I would like to move up."
