I can assure you I'm not making up statistics. I have access to these numbers as a part of my job.

I don't remember ever claiming that the majority of Stanford grads went into finance. What I said was that a much higher percentage of them went on to higher paying careers like i banking, consulting, and private equity than at BYU. Consulting isn't finance.

I was a little fast and loose in saying that most Stanford grads stay in the bay area, I was just assuming that, so I'll concede I was wrong on that point. But I would be willing to bet that a higher percentage of Stanford grads go to higher paying metros than the percentage of BYU grads that do. I'm not trying to prove anything with that statement, other than to point at reasons why there is such a disparity in the avg starting salaries.

I never argued that Stanford and BYU are on the same plane. Stanford is a better program period and there is no question about that. But if you're just looking at avg starting salaries as being the basis for the comparison of how much better Stanford is, then there is more to the story that should pointed out.

All else equal, the Stanford grad has a leg up on the BYU grad for the same position, but when a BYU grad gets that position over a Stanford grad, the starting salary generally isn't much different. That is a fact at my company, and at other major tech companies in the bay area.