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<p>Personally, I found sophomore year more difficult than freshman year, but lots of MIT students don’t feel that way. MIT admits people who they feel have the potential to do well at MIT, not just people who have already covered the equivalent of an MIT education. So there are people who have various types of trouble during freshman year - and this doesn’t necessarily mean they are flunking out, but they are better served (in MIT’s opinion) by P/NR, ABC/NR, etc. You have to take into account that not everyone has access to extra problems to challenge themselves (in all potential fields of study), the means and opportunity to participate in olympiads, etc. (Although there is more of that information readily available on the web now, one must know what to look for.)</p>