I would assume that schools like RPI also have a lot higher concentration of peers who are applying to places like Google, carrying around copies of Cracking th

I would assume that schools like RPI also have a lot higher concentration of peers who are applying to places like Google, carrying around copies of Cracking the Coding Interview, returning from internships, and sharing knowledge of the industry and how to prepare for your career. Whether that actually makes someone better prepared to do the job is an open question, but it certainly seems like it would make people appear better prepared to do the job, since they'd know what interviewing companies value.