My D is a freshmen Chemical Engineer at RPI. She likes it there very much. It's her kind of crowd (nerdy and gamers), it's small, high academic standards, and she's enjoying upstate NY. She didn't want to go to a large state school, doesn't care about college sports, doesn't care about "going out on the town" or being in the "big city", and doesn't want to live in a hot and humid climate.
Her college GPA is 3.91. Her SAT was 2300, her weighted high school GPA was 4.2, she took 5 AP exams (4s/5s), and SAT subject tests were 710 Chemistry and 750 Math (I think). She was home schooled (online) overseas in China (she's American, not Chinese).
RPI was not her first choice - in fact, she only applied there as a safety at the last minute because they didn't require a personal essay :) But they offered her a large scholarship that covers her tuition and nearly half her room/board, so she said yes. And luckily, it turned out to be great.
Okay, sorry for the long introduction, just trying to set the background. So why am I asking if I should encourage her to transfer?
My daughter really wants to study and/or work overseas - preferably Germany. And while from what I understand RPI is an excellent school with a great reputation for engineering among top US employers, it's relatively unknown outside the US. So I'm concerned that a school with a more prestigious name might serve her better when applying to a graduate program or job somewhere like Munich, Berlin or Zurich.
Originally, her first choices were Stanford, Chicago (they have a new molecular engineering program), and Cornell. She was waitlisted at Chicago and Cornell. She was also waitlisted at Rice and CMU (actually, CMU offered her to join a smaller priority waitlist and sent her a financial offer, so it seemed almost like an acceptance--she declined because RPI offered her a much larger scholarship).
So I have 2 questions:
1. Would she have a good chance of being accepted to a school where she was waitlisted last year, given her GPA at RPI (known for its tough grades)? I've heard that it's sometimes easier to transfer into a top school than apply direct from high school?
2. She's already hinted she's not interested in trying to transfer. Should I encourage her to try to get to Chicago or Cornell anyway, due to the benefits they might provide later down the line due to being much more recognized outside the US? Part of me wants to, but the other part says no, she's happy where she is, RPI is a decent school with good academics, so don't push her.
Any advice from fellow parents? Or insight into how these colleges might be viewed outside the US (in other words, maybe RPI is just fine and I'm making a big deal out of nothing?) Thanks for your time.
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