<p>Can’t answer all your questions–as I don’t have any close friends who’ve gone through the application process (and have a chem midterm tomorrow!).</p>
<p>When I said manageable, what I meant was two things
A. The classes don’t consume your life; you probably spend <strong>at most</strong> 3-4 hrs reading/reviewing and 4-5 hrs working on a problem set each week.<br>
B. You don’t need to be a genius to get an A. I feel like I can’t answer your question with a yes, as I have friends who put in the work and don’t get always get A’s. However, if you score the class mean on everything, you will get a B/B+. So scoring <em>above the mean</em> usually puts you in the A range.</p>
<p>As for tracking… You’re required to take a year of physics. At Harvard, you can take:
*Physics for premeds (integrated with bio/chem)
*Regular physics with calculus
*Honors physics with calculus
*Insane physics with insane calculus 
As a result, the all-star physics students are not going to be in your class, if you’re just some premed who wants to get his/her med school requirements out of the way (then again, you’re very welcome to take the super insane physics if you like that!).</p>
<p>Similar choices for math. Less so for organic chem (there are two tracks, a life sci one and a straight chem one) + bio/inorganic chem/etc.</p>