<p>Thanks for the honest input guys. I agree that it will be tough, but from talking to my advisor Penn actually sends a few transfers each year to other top programs. I did not ask for specifics on what their situation was, but according to her, they all did very well academically and got great recs but felt that it was not quite the right fit for them. Contrary to what swing said, I don’t see how my 4.0 after freshman year is a detriment to my chances. Would they rather take a state school kid with a lower gpa just because they “need” harvard or yale more than I do? I do agree though that I need to have a good story of why Penn is not the right fit for me and how those schools are better suited for my short and long-term goals. </p>
<p>I also disagree that Penn CAS is a top 5 school along with harvard/yale/princeton/stanford/mit. There is no objective evidence to support that claim (selectivity, caliber of students, etc.) and such a claim is bordering on egregious Penn trolling.</p>