Anonymous wrote:No, it drives up the price of tuition with little benefit and interaction to/with the undergrads. I think at Duke 60% of tuition is covering grad stuff.

+1.

No, it drives up the price of tuition with little benefit and interaction to/with the undergrads. I think at Duke 60% of tuition is covering grad stuff.

Yes, in the fact that the professors have a higher chance of being up to date with their area of expertise. No, in the fact that many undergraduate first and second year classes are taught by inexperienced low paid Graduate Students and not Professors.

Few undergrads attend the same school for graduate school, so how should one weigh the presence of strong graduate schools on campus? a plus for undergrads?

I'd say YES, a plus in STEM fields, but probably a minus in non STEM fields. Large research universities tend to short change undergrads because reputations are made (or not) by the graduate programs.