For the first time, the WSJ polled employers/recruiters and asked them to rank their top schools. Leading the way were big state schools: (1) Penn State, (2) Texas A&M, (3) Illinois, (4) Purdue, and (5) Arizona State leading the way, and 19 public of the top 25 school were public schools.
Recruiting, networking, whatever seems to be a crazy animal. There are so many factors, like admissions, I guess. Recruiters could come in with specific needs or maybe big state schools just have more people to choose from…who knows?
It is not like the Ivy League has some sort of monopoly on talent. Opportunities for students at state schools are there. The reasons some of the recruiters give about hard skills, geography and loyality to the region are pretty interesting.