<p>Well, I’ll hazard a guess to the OP’s question, based on no hard data, but just a general impression garnered from 30 years of looking at the detailed salary data in Chemical & Engineering News: If an engineer has the general intellectual capability needed to graduate from Caltech, then regardless of the university attended, after 10-15 years of employment, the engineer’s salary will depend primarily on accomplishments at work, choices made, and overall ability at “self-advocacy.” A complicating factor in the analysis is the strong correlation of employment locale, salaries, and cost of living. </p>
<p>For a full-freight-paying student, if monetary concerns are the deciding factor, then–historically–I’m pretty certain that it would have been better financially to attend an in-state university, of the caliber of U Mich, UT, or Ga Tech, while investing the money saved in the stock market. It is possible that institutional prestige will have a stronger effect for current students, however.</p>
<p>But I’m not sure whether the OP will find many like-minded students at Caltech (heh, understatement). After all, the Caltech thread about what to bring to college covers belt sanders (pro and con) and equipment to be cannibalized, before clothes.</p>
<p>@Quelloquialism: There is a lot of cold air here that I’d be willing to exchange for warmer air. I suggest that we both drive to central Nebraska, bringing air in large Dewar flasks, and then exchange flasks.</p>