<p>Yes, it’s hard. Exactly how hard depends on a few things:</p>
<ol>
<li>How do you define “hard”? </li>
</ol>
<p>If “hard” to you means “OMG! I actually have to do my homework? I can’t just scribble it 15m before class?” you are in for a rude awakening. </p>
<p>If by “hard” you mean “the workload is so brutal I cry myself to sleep every night”, there are colleges out there for insane masochists - start with Reed, or University of Chicago. </p>
<p>If by “hard” you mean “breathtaking mental challenge that makes me question for the first half of every semester whether I will ever <em>get</em> this subject, with a difficult but <em>not</em> sado-masochistic and soul-crushing workload” there are lots of those, and they’re great! This is the sweet spot of college, no matter who you are: being stretched almost to your breaking point without exceeding it, and growing massively because of it. It’s like Crossfit for your brain.</p>
<p>Which brings me to number two:</p>
<ol>
<li>Is “hard” something that inspires you, or something that you shy away from?</li>
</ol>
<p>Just like in physical fitness, there are plenty of people who don’t want to be mentally fit. They want to go through the motions at the “gym” without really working. To this kind of student, any kind of college that demands too much of them will be “hard”, in a very pejorative sense. </p>
<p>On the other hand, some people are in college because they want to be shaped and formed. They want to get mentally buff, to think deeply and analyze critically. If this is you, there’s a right college out there for you.</p>
<p>I personally believe that <em>formation</em> matters most when choosing a college. You choose the college that will do the best job of making you what you wish to become. If you choose one that’s not hard enough, you never truly get reshaped. If you choose one that is too hard, you founder and lose your motivation. But if you hit that sweet spot, you get a 6-pack brain. Beef-caaaaake! Beef-caaaaaaaaaaake! ;)</p>
<p>In conclusion, when I say a school is “hard”, I mean it as a compliment. For example, Marlboro College has an acceptance rate over 80%, but Marlboro is hard. Lusciously, sweetly, wonderfully hard.</p>