Unless things have changed (I graduated in 1957) we refer to the University of Pennsylvania as Penn not UPenn.
I am not trying to be snarky but if you are nterested in this school then learn how to refer to it.
I googled “Penn”. The first item on the search results was indeed “University of Pennsylvania”. The third item was Penn State. If we were to ask the man on the street somewhere other than in Philadelphia we are likely to get a few Penn States. Hence some choose to refer to the University of Pennsylvania as UPenn.
You are lucky if people know the difference… this does come off as snarky.
This comes off as extremely snarky. You have no right to tell us what to call the school. If I go to my friends and say “penn”, plenty think I’m referring to penn state. However, if I say “U penn”, every single one knows what I’m talking about…
Upenn is an acceptable abbreviation. Penn is referred to as UPenn or Penn, neither one is correct over the other. So please, before being snarky, do your research, especially if you are relying on 50-year-old information.
UPenn is a common way to distinguish from Penn State online.
When you are actually there, students just call it Penn.
The University of Michigan has a similar situation with UMich. Students say Michigan, but you can’t just google Michigan.
Snarky or not, it’s really annoying to be called by a name you do not use! 
The University of Pennsylvania goes by “Penn” on all branding, not “UPenn”.
To the old schoolers, @amanivy, @AnonPenn2016— Penn itself now has adopted “UPenn”. It’s quixotic to rail against the current generation when that’s how Penn is rebranding itself. What’s Penn’s URL?
Go ahead and type “www.penn.edu” into your browswer window and see what happens. Surprise!
Older Penn alums better get used to “UPenn” because otherwise, you’re fighting a losing battle. While in many circles “Penn” still reigns supreme, it’s online name of “UPenn” will inevitably attain an equal (or even greater) footing, like it or not.
I’m not an “old schooler”, I am a current junior at Penn and I’ve never EVER heard the administration refer to itself as UPenn. The upenn.edu domain has been around since 1986 at the latest (looking at its WHOIS record), it is hardly recent. And by your rationale, then UC Berkeley shouldn’t be known as “Cal” because www.cal.edu doesn’t work either?
Look at the university logo: http://www.upenn.edu/webservices/images/logos/penn_fulllogo.gif, or perhaps the [url href=<a href=“http://www.upenn.edu/admissions/%5DAdmissions”>http://www.upenn.edu/admissions/]Admissions Site or the Penn Communications Office’s website?
http://s21.postimg.org/9yppn72jb/Screen_Shot_2015_01_05_at_10_14_56_AM.png
http://s30.postimg.org/kwom9qtrl/Screen_Shot_2015_01_05_at_10_11_36_AM.png
There’s been much discussion of this here on CC over the years. In fact, Penn always brands itself as “Penn,” and not “UPenn.” The “upenn” web site domain came into existence when the modern internet was first established, and was in keeping with the university domain-naming convention prevalent at the time (e.g., udel, uchicago, umich, etc.). However, other than the domain name, Penn has never branded itself as “UPenn,” and officially sanctioned commemorative school clothing and paraphernalia always bears the name “Penn,” and never “UPenn.” Similarly, administration officials such as the President and Vice Presidents, Deans, etc. generally refer to the institution as “Penn.” In fact, during the early 2000s, the university embarked on a program to ensure the consistency of the Penn “brand” and logos across all university components and media, and promulgated the “Penn” logo you see today all across the Penn web site, on letterhead, and on sweatshirts and t-shirts, mugs and cups, etc. For example:
http://www.upenn.edu/webservices/styleguide/standards.html
So while those raised on the internet may refer to it as “UPenn”–at least until they reach campus as students and see and hear it constantly referred to as “Penn”–the school itself and those more intimately familiar with it will almost always refer to it among the “Penn family” as simply “Penn.” 
Ever hear the phrase “major in the minors”? Is this issue really that important to argue about?
I have no interest in what most of the world does. Here on College Confidential, consistently writing UPenn reduces the confusion that occurs when people really mean Penn State. Few things are worse than a 12-post argument that turns out to have been unnecessary.
Well, argue about it all you want, but if you are planning to write an application essay and plan to refer to the school, I suggest that you say “Penn” leaving the “U” for the unaccepted If you are trying to convey your love and knowledge of the school, go with how those attending and work there identify.
I can tell you that I was just at the bookstore there a few weeks ago shopping for apparel, and there was not one item that had UPenn printed on it. You will see Penn, or University of Pennsylvania, or the individual colleges etc. but not a UPenn to be found.
This is a stupid discussion. I don’t care if people on the Internet call it Penn or UPenn. What does grind my gears is when people on College Confidential capitalize it to be UPENN. It’s not an acronym, nor is it an initialism. Don’t capitalize it.
@45Percenter @AnonPenn2016 @amanivy You know — now that I’ve seen the posts, I pull back from my post #7. You guys make a compelling case about Penn’s “branding” or not. I’ll continue to call it Penn b/c I’m def “old school” Good luck holding off the tide.
@T26E4, once we get 'em on the Penn campus for a week or two, it’s not a problem–they get reprogrammed.
I’m a Penn alum (grad school, not undergrad, so who knows if this actually counts), but I heard both when I was there around 20 years ago. Things apparently changed between 1957 and 1997—as is frequently the case, even for institutions that have been around for a few hundred years.
Spoke to my freshman D, who agrees people at home (North Jersey) always mistake “Penn” for Penn State. Her school email is @upenn.edu. I think it is inevitable that this generation will use the 2 abbreviations interchangeably.
Believe it or not, I get occasionally asked if I went to Penn when I tell them I went to Penn State…“O wow. You were Ivy League?” etc. BTW- since it is the University of Pennsylvania you are going to get people calling it both names, just like some people say ‘Virginia’ while others say ‘UVA’
As an alumnus interviewer, I always cringe a little when students refer to the school as UPenn, not Penn. I agree, though, that it helps distinguish my beloved alma mater from Penn State. Call it whatever you want, as long as you bleed red and blue!