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<p>Yeah, but you just gave away the store right there in your parenthetical phrase. It was a student from a highly ranked state school that Microsoft hired. We’re not talking about a low-ranked school (either public or private). Microsoft doesn’t hire too many developers from the worst schools, whether they are public or private. </p>
<p>Quality, or at least perceived quality, has nothing to do with public vs. private. Some of the best programs in the world are public. For example, I would contend that somebody getting a PhD in EECS from Berkeley is competely comparable to somebody getting a PhD from any other school, including the top private engineering schools such as MIT or Stanford. That’s because Berkeley’s EECS graduate program is excellent in every way - including selectivity. (I’ve known many people who have gotten into the EECS PhD program at MIT who were rejected from Berkeley).</p>