while most people think “Penn” refers to Penn State which is why most Whartonites say they go to “Wharton” and not “Penn”
This is actually false. Nobody who matters (people in academia, top corporations, top schools) confuses Penn with Penn state. Your average joe might but then again he can’t name any ivies past Harvard. (why does his opinion matter anyway? it doesn’t) Also trust me if you work on Wall Street you will hear many people, who were in Wharton while at Penn, say that they went to Penn. What @Longclaw says here are rather stereotypical remarks that are usually perpetuated by outsiders who don’t know much about Penn. In any case most cross-admits choose Penn over Dartmouth for various reasons, but you would make a good choice either way. Go with where you think you will fit best. You can’t go wrong.