[brazzy]

> The folks who've struggled through non-traditional routes have been stronger engineers.

My guess is because those are the people who really had the persistence and ambition to overcome obstacles and adversity.

Those who didn't have that on a "non-traditional rout" would have been much more likely to drop out, whereas someone going to a top school is more likely to have family expectations as their prime driver, which doesn't translate as well to workplace performance.