<p>I would just like to note that how “hard” a class is can mean several different things. It can mean how challenging it is, how quickly it moves, how much reading/writing/problem sets, how deep you are required to go into the material, how much mastery of the material is expected, and how much pre-existing knowledge is expected. Note that these things may or may not be directly related to how hard it is to get an A. If a class is graded on a strict curve, it’s “hard” to get an A even if the class isn’t that challenging. On the other hand, it may be “easy” to get an A as long as you are willing to read a book every week and write a decent 5-page paper every other week.</p>
<p>The discussion of engineering also reminds me that a college education is not just about your major. If you are in a tough major at a state university, but your other courses are not that challenging, is your eduction “hard?” Certainly people at Ivies search for “guts” (or whatever they call them now), but they aren’t always easy to find.</p>