> The average mid-career salary of someone who got an MIT engineering degree is way, way higher than someone who didn't.
This is meaningless. The real question is how much more do you earn as an MIT grad vs. someone who was accepted into MIT and decided to do something even more worthwhile instead.
Its a self-selection bias rather than anything. If a student is smart enough - he shouldn't be forced to shell out 5-6 years worth of his expected earning upfront to maybe add an exponential expected future productivity.
This is meaningless. The real question is how much more do you earn as an MIT grad vs. someone who was accepted into MIT and decided to do something even more worthwhile instead.