Growing up, it's easy to think of Ivy League colleges as the pinnacle of higher education in every way.
Whether you watched "Gilmore Girls" ...
... or "Gossip Girl," the idea of attending an Ivy was everywhere.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdThere is some confusion, though, about what schools are actually part of the Ivy League.
The elite group of eight includes Harvard University ...
... Dartmouth College ...
... Columbia University ...
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip Ad... Princeton University ...
... University of Pennsylvania ...
... and Cornell University.
While the Ivys are known for their academic prestige, the grouping of Northeastern schools was originally conceived out of athletic competition.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdMany people believe Stanford University is an Ivy League school.
By academic standards, it more than fits the bill.
And so does the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
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 ...
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip Ad... and football — just to name a few.
Possibly the most well-known of the Ivy League rivalries is the one between Harvard and Yale.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdEven 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.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdWhile 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.
Many Ivy universities were some of the first in the country.
And while that is a great draw for a student looking for rich history ...
... it also means there are a number of historical buildings lacking updated necessities like air conditioning.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdThe 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.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdStudents at Ivy schools aren't immune to having to trek across campus during less-than-perfect weather.
In fact, since the entire league is located in America's Northeast, they get hit hard with snow and cold during the winter.
Northeast winters can be extremely tough.
Just like anyone else studying in a snow-prone area, Ivy students may have to dig their bikes out of a mound of powder before they can get to class.
The schools have well-earned reputations for stunning architecture ...
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip Ad... stone, cathedral-looking buildings ...
And let's not forget those famously popular iron gates that welcome visitors onto campus.
But they're not the only schools with beautiful campuses.
Indiana University, Bloomington is well-known for images of these pillars.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdAnd palm trees make Stanford University's campus a West Coast dream.
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.
Wellesley College has the same beautiful buildings.
As does the College of William and Mary.
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.
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdWhen 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.
But, of course, non-Ivys have some pretty famous alumni of their own.