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While it's true Mark Zuckerberg graduated from Harvard, the dorm room from which he started Facebook was no more luxurious than a dorm room at any other top school.
When it comes down to it, eating, sleeping, studying, and working out at an Ivy looks a lot like it would at any other university.
It's no wonder people put Ivy League schools on such a pedestal. Between all the movies and television shows featuring Harvard and Yale - remember Rory Gilmore's inner struggle when it came to choosing between the two? - and the clout of having a degree from one of the elite eight northeastern universities, who wouldn't think everything about the schools is a dream?
While the academics at these schools is unquestionably prestigious - and they have educated some of the country's most well-known minds - it doesn't mean life on the campuses is as well.
Dorm rooms are small and dining hall food is exactly that. The campuses are beautiful, but there are a vast amount of non-Ivy campuses that are as well. While the Ivy League was originally formed to create a sport conference, and its teams often make it into tournaments, there are plenty of teams at schools all across the country that are constantly beating them out for titles.
Take a look at these photos proving life at an Ivy is no different from life at any other top university in the country.
However, neither of these schools is part of the Ivy League conference. The formation of the league had little to do with academia; it is — at it's core — a sports conference, much like the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference (B10), and Pacific-12 Conference (Pac-12).
The schools within the Ivy League conference compete in all types of sports. From track and field ...
... to crew ...
... baseball ...
... basketball ...
... and football — just to name a few.
Possibly the most well-known of the Ivy League rivalries is the one between Harvard and Yale.
Even in terms of athletic excellence, though, there's nothing exceptional about the teams at Ivy League schools.
Because of the academic reputation, high tuition rates, low acceptance rates, and the label of a private college, it's easy to assume that life on any of these campuses is unimaginably luxurious.
The ivy-draped stone buildings do give the scenery a certain nuance ...
... but in reality, these campuses aren't much different from others around the country.
Like many universities, the dorms don't really look like they do in the brochures or movies.
While students may be dreaming of an Elle Woods-esque setup, reality at Harvard looks a bit more like this.
In fact, living arrangements can be so cramped that students at Harvard have been known to remove their closet doors because there's no room for them to swing open.
The amenities at Ivy League schools are similar to those at other universities. Campuses typically have several gyms for both personal and group fitness ...
... multipurpose common areas and work spaces ...
... and various libraries with different study environments.
The stacks inside Brown's John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library look like those at any normal library.
And the food in the dining halls is hardly gourmet. After all, "Cafeteria food is cafeteria food," one Quora user wrote.
The Rutgers campus also has manicured lawns and walkways. The New Jersey school faced off against Princeton in the first game of intercollegiate football in 1869 — it sparked quite the rivalry.
The University of Maryland, College Park campus is centered around a brick building-lined mall that's modeled after the National Mall in Washington D.C.
When you break down all the elements of Ivy League schools, they're actually very similar to other top universities across the country. Sure, they have their share of famous alumni.
