Apple wouldn't have a problem with extreme secrecy if their compensation went above and beyond the companies they compete with for engineering talent. But their

Apple wouldn't have a problem with extreme secrecy if their compensation went above and beyond the companies they compete with for engineering talent. But their compensation is basically equivalent, or even less. So except for some particular affinity for an Apple product or team, or variance in interviewing success, I typically see undergrad/masters/PhD graduates vastly preferring Google/Facebook offers over Apple (I use these as an example because each company typically has a standard offer for each group).