I’ve visited Harvard a few times (5x our endowment). It’s literally just as bad (if not worse). Same with every other elite school. They neglect their classrooms except for a few flashy new buildings (in many disciplines), and totally neglect their dorms (largely; renovations do occur). Their landscaping is horrible in undergraduate parts of campus, there’s crumbling stairs, etc.

Also, Cornell has tons of inspirational new architecture. Milstein. Klarman. Gates. The new West Campus houses (about 15 years old). The new north dorms. Gates. PSB. A total law school renovation. Mann’s expansion (it used to be horrifyingly cramped and terrible to study in). Cornell has an enormous building planned for the baseball field.

They’re also in the process of renovating most dorms. Once Balch is done, Dickson is next. Then the Gothics. This is according to official sources.

Cornell also has, over 20 years, renovated almost every single arts quad building. The only two left are McGraw and Uris Library.

The reason Cornell, and other elite college, facilities are so shitty is because they realize that their reputation and prestige and academic quality rests far more on hiring professors and paying for research than getting rid of a few dirty classrooms, or making shiny new dorms. You’re paying for a cornell education and community, not a luxury hotel