<p>Just to make sure I don’t leave any wrong impressions, I’m a big fan of CMU. I’m just a bigger fan of Cornell in my technical area. Being the 3rd stop in the northeast is nothing to sneeze at. Lehigh is very well respected too. </p>
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<p>The market value for MIT engineers is higher however than for most other schools so we do have to pay more. There is no shortage of recruiting at MIT. The last career fair a few weeks ago was mobbed. We pay extra to be on the first floor because many students don’t even get to the second floor. We do recruit at other well known schools also for the same jobs and it’s often the case that I can find grads from other schools that are equally strong for the same position. The salary however is set by HR and MIT engineers can command a premium because of both higher expectations and the competitive market. They come back with bona fide higher offers, and it’s hard for HR to argue that they are not worth it. This doesn’t happen as often with students from other schools, but it sometimes does.</p>