Wow, my experience (and my husband’s, for that matter) was that Harvard faculty were very accessible when we were undergrads. I’m delighted that, years later, our kid is having a similar experience at Chicago.
And, now that I think about it, Princeton faculty were very accessible too. I agree that the Abbott story is a great one and goes way beyond the call of duty, but probably speaks more to the individual than to the institution. And/or it’s not surprising that at elite universities generally you find some faculty who love to talk shop with eager students who share their interests.