“The 2+2 grad who does 2 years at a basic community college and two more years at ANY SUNY university will get the same job (and similar money to start) as the CS major from the super-competitive school.”
Sorry but that is simply not true. Even though everyone was well behaved not everyone gets trophies. By the time a CS major from Stanford, CalTec, CMU, MIT, Michigan and (and at least another 20 schools) graduate they have already interned at places like Google, Microsoft, Fb, and on and on. They are heavily recruited as interns by their first or second summer. They are recruited for full time jobs before they are a month or two into senior year. I’ve asked students on SUNY campuses about their experiences and it is nothing like that. I am not saying that “any SUNY” isn’t fine. But the idea that a graduate of SUNY has the same opportunities as would be offered a graduate of “super-competitive school”(s) is simply not the case. Naturally some students from sUNY may end up at the same kind of places. There are tons of graduates from SUNY and these companies are seeking to fill slots, but I assure you that, on average, there is absolutely no comparison between opportunities easily available to graduates of top CS schools and those available to SUNY graduates. Sorry to bring reality onto these threads because being left with the feel good idea that all schools are equal would feel better. On the other hand, most things are possible for those who are brilliant and work very hard to get them.
Swarthmore is nothing like SUNY. A graduate of Swarthmore would be very competitive.