<p>Here's a brief anecdote. </p>
<p>When I was at Bryn Mawr, I took introductory Japanese at Haverford. It was hands down the toughest course I'd ever taken, but also very rewarding. Harvard uses the same curriculum as Haverford, so I figured that after I transferred, I could start second-year Japanese. Come to find out that I would have to start over...because Harvard uses the same Japanese curriculum as Haverford, but moves through the material exactly TWICE as fast. So my first year of Japanese at Haverford only covered the first semester at Harvard. That's regular speed; Harvard also offers accelerated Japanese, which covers the material of the entire four-year bachelor's program at Haverford in the first year. So if you want to know if Harvard offers tough courses, that's one apples-to-apples comparison.</p>