Nobody seems to have mentioned that you can probably learn as much in 4 years at MIT as in 5-6 years at Z. The courses at MIT are going to be more rigorous and

Nobody seems to have mentioned that you can probably learn as much in 4 years at MIT as in 5-6 years at Z. The courses at MIT are going to be more rigorous and likely cover more stuff, and the ancillary learning / problem set sessions / dining halls will have a core of really committed students, so you'll absorb a lot of stuff that you haven't formally studied. The result is that you'll be highly qualified to work after 4 years, and you'll save two years of studying -- the economics of that are extremely positive, not to mention you get two more years in your twenties.