Disappointing photos show what going to Harvard is like in real life
Harvard University is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, about 20 minutes west of downtown Boston by car.
It's one of the most expensive schools in the nation, with tuition, room and board, and other fees costing north of $60,000 a year.
Source: Investopedia
As a result, the institution and its graduates have garnered a prestigious reputation.
After all, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg attended before famously dropping out — and now he runs one of the largest tech companies in the world.
Source: Forbes
And how can we forget Elle Woods' level of genius?
She made attending Harvard look like a life of luxury ...
... but in reality, life at Harvard looks a lot like it does at other typical American universities.
Especially when it comes to living in dorms.
Overall, the dormitories are decades old and weren't built to accommodate the vast amount of students that they now house.
Source: Quora
About 98% of students at Harvard live in housing owned, operated, or affiliated with the school.
Source: US News
... so much so that students have been known to remove the doors from their closets because there isn't enough space for them to open.
Source: Quora
So while Harvard students moving into their dorms might be expecting something more like this ...
... they get something more like this, a unit in the Gropius Complex.
Gropius units are also some of the cheapest options on-campus, with semester prices between $3,000 and $6,000.
Source: Harvard
So you're getting what you pay for.
Other dormitories, like the first-year house of Stoughton, feature a large single room layout with two beds.
Source: Harvard
There's plenty of space for company in the unit.
... and a library in the college's Adam House.
The Lowell House sports a beautiful common area.
Over in Harvard Yard, Harvard's original campus, there's the renowned Widener Library, filled with three million books spanning 50 miles of shelves.
Source: Harvard
And then there's the majestic Annenberg, the dining hall for first-years that looks like a Harry Potter movie set.
Source: Harvard
There's a wide selection of food, including some of your average college meals, like meatball subs and steamed broccoli, and of course some soft serve ice cream.
Source: Harvard
Though the food apparently doesn't always live up to the cafeteria's beautiful design.
Unlike most college students, people attending Harvard have to get used to the swarms of tourists traveling to the famed school for photo opps.
Source: NPR
It sits adjacent to Harvard Yard.
There are coffee shops, restaurants, book stores, shopping, and more in the square.
Source: Trip Advisor
But tourists also come to get a glimpse of Harvard life and its students.
Some students even advise against moving into first-floor units, since tourists have been known to take photos through the windows of buildings on campus.
Source: Quora
The intrusive photography got so bad that the university had to post signs around campus warning tourists to be respectful of students.
Source: NPR
![One student told NPR that "you get really used to [the tourists]" as commonplace.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-66294271,width-700,height-525,imgsize-1064370/one-student-told-npr-that-you-get-really-used-to-the-tourists-as-commonplace-.jpg)
Harvard students also have to battle the elements just like everybody else.
Source: The Weather Channel
And because Harvard is situated in the northeast, temperatures can hit below 30 degrees Fahrenheit during the coldest months of the year.
Source: The Weather Channel
Especially if you get a snow day — yes, Harvard has those — and you plan on taking part in the time-honored tradition of sledding down the snowy slopes of Widener Library.
Source: Harvard
So overall, going to Harvard looks a lot like attending other universities ...
... except that its students graduate from the most reputable university in the world.
Source: Times Higher Education
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