Give Germans some credit. I really think employers there will be savvy enough to evaluate – correctly! – the quality of education your daughter receives at RPI.
So true . . . my uncle was a Raytheon engineer for many years. He lives far away and I don’t speak to him often. When I spoke to him at Christmas and mentioned that our son was looking at RPI (though he ended up not applying), he was quick to exclaim what a great school it is.
I agree with another post, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
OP, you are the prestige hound! Stop trying to impose your desires on your daughter.
“it’s relatively unknown outside the US.”
How, exactly do you get this notion? Have you been speaking with people who hire US-trained engineers for the countries that she’s interested in working in?
I do think you are incorrect that engineers around the would won’t know RPI. My mother worked at a worldwide engineering firm in the accounting department. Really low level worker, and she knows RPI because many of the engineers around the world take online classes and she pays the bills (tuition reimbursement).
While I do think Harvard and Stanford will be more recognized to the people on the street, people doing the hiring will know RPI just as well as Rice or CMU.
The OP probably being ethnic Chinese, I think the fixation there is with the big name schools like HYPSM. People who know engineering know RPI’s reputation. I would think Germans who know about engineering schools know RPI.
I guess OP got the money’s worth of answers on post…from the very helpful to the mildly helpful…and even the answer with a racial stereotype…the full spectrum. Wow.
Career and life success are FAR more than a matter of collecting credentials. I agree with others here: let your daughter enjoy and benefit from the terrific programs at RPI. Let her continue to learn, to be creative, and to lay a foundation for later life and career.
The OP said she’s not Chinese, just that her daughter was home schooled because they were living in China.
@ChicagoSportsFn , I’m ethnic Chinese, and I see a lot of the prestige seeking, especially with HYPSM, on CC from Chinese-Americans and Mainland Chinese posters.
The OP said the child is American, not Chinese. That can mean she’s an American citizen, not a Chinese citizen. That doesn’t mean she’s not ethnic Chinese. That could be wrong, but there’s no information to determine that. It was an assumption.
Doesn’t matter what you are. What you said is a racial stereotype. That’s my only point.
Guilty as charged. I can certainly stereotype my ethnic brethren, and it’s based on more than a bit of truth.
I agree with everyone: she’s doing very well at an excellent engineering school, is happy socially, and has great FA. What’s not to like?
Talking to career services about opportunities in Germany is a great idea. It may well be that she could improve her chances by studying the language, if she hasn’t already.
She is the one who should be steering her own education. Why would you suggest a student happy with where she is transfer? The prestige of the school has not changed since she applied has it? That conversation should have happened at that point or not at all.
Get a job with a German company here in the U.S., then get a transfer to Germany. Problem solved. BASF, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Volkswagen.
Don’t encourage her to move. She’s happy socially and academically. RPI is a VERY good school and well known by companies that hire engineers.
As for Germany, there was recently (within the last year) a piece on NPR about how German universities offer free tuition to foreign students because 25% of them end of staying on, and it’s proven a great way to add young people to the population who are educated and productive. While I agree that there’s a lot going on in Germany, it sounds like she’d be able to do something like that post-RPI if that’s still her goal.
From personal experience having advised students at my school, Illinois Tech, it is possible to get the kind of experience abroad that she wants staying at RPI. Not only are there the study abroad opportunities offered by the university but she can apply to the [url="<a href=“https://www.daad.org/%22%5DDAAD%5B/url”>https://www.daad.org/"]DAAD[/url] programs. She apparently likes RPI, has made connections there, and is doing well academically. Transferring will risk all of that.
Just another point of view, once you get your first job your success as an engineer is driven by what you can do with the degree (in other words your job experiences and skill set). If you apply yourself and develop your skill set, you can go far. After the first job or two, the questions from recruiters are focused on what your skills are and what job experience you have. Where the degree came from is far less important.
When I went to RPI in the late 70’s the career center was excellent. We had recruiters from all the top companies coming to RPI including companies based in California and Texas. Most of us were employed before we graduated. I would say that today, RPI is a far better school and its reputation has grown. Are there better schools. Sure. But the RPI degree is highly respected in the engineering circles.
Since you daughter is happy, I would stay the course. RPI can be a hard place to love.
Aloha @insanedreamer can you still breathe under this pile on? I’ve read some of your other posts, and it sounds like you want to be a helpful, positive contributor so thanks for being a part of the CC community. 
I actually agree with most of the other posters for one reason only, “She’s already hinted she’s not interested in trying to transfer.” If she wants to explore the possibility of transferring, great. If she doesn’t, great. As I think you already know, college admissions is not a mathematical equation. Your very intelligent daughter sounds like the best judge of what will make today, tomorrow, next year, and five years from now the best experience for her goals.
Good luck to you both!
Sounds like she’s very happy, doing well and RPI will offer the opportunities she needs to get wherever. A semester or year abroad, a summer internship abroad, or an internship with a German company here - all those are great ideas for helping to move her education where she wants it to go.