While the Fighting Quaker might not be the most ferocious mascot, Penn students should at least be thankful they are not represented by a Fighting Artichoke.
In the wake of U.S. News and World Report's recently released rankings, many other sources are releasing their own lists of approval, including AOL's "Worst Mascots Ever," in which Scottsdale Arizona's Community College's Fighting Artichokes landed fourth.
With regard to the Harvard Crimson and the NYU Violets - which earned third and seventh place, respectively - AOL asked, "Are these people too busy studying to pick out a tangible mascot?"
Harvard sophomore Marcelo Cerullo called his school's mascot "a little pathetic."
Meanwhile, Motto Magazine released a list of "The 10 Best College Mottos" earlier this month, putting Penn's "Laws without morals are useless" in fifth place.
Cornell University snagged first place for its motto, "I would found an institution where any person can find instruction."
"'I would found an institution' - is that even grammatically correct?" asked Cornell sophomore Nicholas Brownstone.
Cornell also scored points with Newsweek magazine, which compiled the "25 Hottest Universities," a list that ranks schools based on how popular they are among prospective students. Newsweek labeled the school the "Hottest Ivy."
"Unlike the other Ivies, Cornell is a land-grant college, emphasizing problem solving as well as scholarly debate," according to the article.
But not everyone agreed: the Facebook group "Cornell is only the 'Hottest Ivy' because they need the heating in Ithaca" boasted 40 members as of Tuesday.
The Princeton Review has likewise taken the rankings system a step further with over 60 different types of categories, evaluating schools on everything from dorm-room comfort to political activism.
West Virginia University was deemed the top Party School and is among the top 10 for "Lots of Hard Liquor" and "Lots of Beer."
On the other end of the spectrum, Brigham Young University, where over 98 percent of students are Mormon, was first for "Stone Cold Sober," "Scotch and Soda, hold the Scotch" and "Students Pray on a Regular Basis."
Bringing the lists closer to home, Drexel University ranked number two for "campus is tiny, unsightly or both," and Penn was in the top 10 for "Town-Gown relations are strained."
Other groups ranged from "Birkenstock-wearing, tree-hugging, clove-smoking vegetarians" schools like Sarah Lawrence College to ones where "Students most nostalgic for Bill Clinton," like Bard College.
Meanwhile, many other Penn students will probably be reading this very article - The Daily Pennsylvanian was ranked the third most popular college newspaper.
