<p>Of course we all know that MIT is just plain hard, but what makes it hard? Is it because the tests are so difficult and that you have to know the material in more depth?
Courseload at Harvard, for instance, is probably less demanding since the GPAs are so high. Does that mean that Harvard students learn less?</p>
<p>Harvard is renowned for grade inflation (or it was before they started reforming it; I don't know where it lies now). Maybe MIT is as well, but you can't really compare them based on GPAs. Maybe more kids at Harvard are driven by grades (e.g. it's really important if you are in premed).</p>
<p>According to cross registered MIT students I've talked to, there are two things. #1, it is just easy to get an A at Harvard; grade inflation is a reality. #2, there is a much lighter courseload at Harvard, where at MIT we have the infamous "p-sets." Does it mean Harvard students learn less? Well, I think it means Harvard students COULD learn less and still get an A in the class, however I'm sure the students there still learn the material because they want to learn, they're just not required to in the way an MIT student is.</p>
<p>do you go to MIT or Harvard angrod?</p>
<p>MIT's courseload tends to have breadth, depth, and speed. You will cover a lot of material in a comparitively short amount of time. The "infamous p-sets" provide the depth, making you really exercise your problem solving skills to get through questions that are not straightforward. The tests, thankfully, are not as challenging as the problem sets in terms of their depth, but they still cover a lot of material and with the addition of a time contraint, they have their own way of being difficult.</p>
<p>That being said, none of it is impossible. If you are like most people here, the challenge is what drives you and you will learn a lot more because of it.</p>
<p>do you usually get a lot of homework or are tests and projects the main things?</p>
<p>Homework is the greatest time commitment but tests/projects are usually worth more of the grade.</p>