1. Most people have figured out that large companies (esp. banks) reward those who are able to finagle a way to the top over those who are simply good at doing

1. Most people have figured out that large companies (esp. banks) reward those who are able to finagle a way to the top over those who are simply good at doing their jobs, which means that it's economically optimal to spend one's college years making connections and learning how to socialize with rich people. It's hard to do this if you're in a demanding major. 2. Most people with the talent to pursue science degrees would actually rather be star professors making $150k in complete autonomy than Wall Street star traders making $20 million; at that level, money's fairly irrelevant. However, if look at the median outcome, finance wins. The mediocre Wall Street person still reaches $1 million/year by age 40 or so, while the mediocre engineer is lucky to crack $100k, and the mediocre professor is lucky if he has a job at all. 3. A lot of Indians and Chinese want the option of coming to the US, at least temporarily. We need engineers, so it's easier for them to get into the country. 4. Grade inflation, especially in elite colleges. As notorious as the Ivy League is for grade inflation, this is mainly in the humanities (and economics, because they need to have watered-down economics courses for the wannabe banker-douches) and far less prevalent in the sciences. Math courses give a B- or C for mediocre work. Humanities courses give a B+ or A- for mediocre work. The result is that a lot of people walk away thinking they're "just bad at math" because of the B in linear algebra, because a B in their humanities departments is a bad grade, whereas a B in the math course is average or even above average.