<p>I’m not really sure you can say that a CS degree from CMU can get you “one of the highest-paying computer jobs easily.” While it would be a good thing to have, you could say the same thing about alumni connections and whatnot you would obtain by going to an Ivy League school.</p>
<p>My admissions strategy was to apply SCEA to the most difficult school (not that it worked out… hahah) in the hopes that my early interest would help me a bit in admissions. I have no idea if it gave me any higher chance of getting in, but I felt like it might have.</p>