<p>I’ll second the opinions about the positive aspects of having a large graduate program on campus. I have two undergrad degrees and a PhD from large research universities (not MIT), and in every case I thought undergraduates who were interested in current research benefited from the presence of graduate students.</p>
<p>As for stories about MIT–I don’t have any personal experience, but I will pass on that when two of my husband’s colleagues (both professors who earned their doctorates at MIT) heard that our son was planning to apply to MIT, both advised against it, saying that their impression was that undergraduates were not happy, and seemed very stressed. That didn’t dissuade my son from applying this year, as he is a very hard worker and already handles a lot of different interests and activities. If you aren’t that type, I suppose you would be very well advised to ask pertinent questions of current students.</p>