Alumni networks are quite important in CS, though it does depend on what you want to do. Angel investing is particularly network-driven, and alumni networks are

Alumni networks are quite important in CS, though it does depend on what you want to do. Angel investing is particularly network-driven, and alumni networks are one of the important ones (Stanford's being the best, but not the only one). Hiring at many large companies also typically requires at least one of: a strong network, or a strong credential. Even newer companies like Google pay a lot of attention to degrees, and older ones like big engineering companies (Lockheed, etc.) do exclusively.