One of the compounding factors is that academic positions disproportionately go only to graduates of top-rated institutions. For CS faculty, 50% of tenure-track

One of the compounding factors is that academic positions disproportionately go only to graduates of top-rated institutions. For CS faculty, 50% of tenure-track positions graduated from the top 18 schools, while 80% came from the top 25. If you want a PhD for academia, then it almost certainly isn't worth it if you don't go to an elite institution. http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/1/e1400005 http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/1/e1400005