<p>I don’t think the issue here is that it’s Harvard - I think the issue is that you’re probably not going to make a great impression by saying that you want to attend MIT because it’s better than a specific school.</p>
<p>There’s no reason you can’t say you want to attend MIT because other schools are [insert criticism here, but nothing vitriolic!], but I would stick to generalities (i.e., “from my experience with other SCHOOLS…”) rather than fixate on a single school’s negative qualities. Afterward, you can cite Harvard as an example of your views, for instance, and this way, it doesn’t seem like “Why MIT?” is only because “it’s better than Harvard.”</p>