Schools establish policies to suit their tastes/preferences, not yours. Their policies have been published, and if not, it is the applicant's responsibility to ask prior to application submission to find out what those policies are.
It is true that you will forgo that $90k salary for another year, but honestly, finding out their policies PRIOR to your application submission could have save you a lot of heartache.
There are many schools across the US so you have to find the school that suits your situation the best. Just because one school doesn't honor your situation does not mean that the next school will not either.
Sorry to hear about the disappointment but remember to do your homework next time!