<p>I already addressed Cost of Living - it doesn’t explain the differences. Otherwise UConn and Stevens graduates in high cost areas would be getting the same big salaries as MIT and CalTech graduates in high cost areas.</p>
<p>There are high paying engineering jobs and low paying engineering jobs. This is obvious from the salary stats posted. </p>
<p>Who gets the highest paying jobs? The best candidates. A larger share of the best candidates come from the best schools. You can still get a high paying job coming from a mediocre school, but not many from the school will.</p>
<p>If you offer a job at a fixed salary, you will get a set a candidates of quality matched to that level of pay. How hard is that to understand?</p>