<p>One of the most important things for me in college is that i find a college that is fun, has great professors, but has an intense academic/competitive atmosphere.</p>
<p>I would like to know what universities are generally considered moderately or very difficult and create a list of all different schools that are extremely challenging to get through. I dont want just Ivy leagues schools either. I think schools of all different entrance difficulties would be nice since not everyone on CC (including myself) has near perfect grades.</p>
<p>And if you would like to justify your reason, explain if needed.</p>
<p>I've been told that Amherst College is quite the academic challenge, along with Williams and Swarthmore Colleges. Not very suprising I suppose... but I'm interested to see what else people come up with.</p>
<p>Yeah one time i read about this kid that wanted to apply for grad school and he went to williams. He had a 3.7, and some idiotic guy from some place like Fordham or something that was a Grad admissions officer said that a 3.7 at williams was like a 3.3 at places like brown and columbia...but the whole thread agreed that the admissions officer was stupid. You cant be a superfamous school like williams and be easy? W T H?
Anymore?</p>
<p>Amherst is tough, but its curriculum is anything but tough (nearly no course reqs.)</p>
<p>No school is extremely challenging to "get through" (graduate), but top LACs, tech schools, and some (but not all) top universities, will really make you work.</p>
<p>Reed, UChicago, Caltech, Harvey Mudd, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, Cornell, Colgate, come to mind as well when I think of tough schools.</p>
<p>Keep in mind it also depends greatly on which major you choose to pursue.</p>
<p>MIT
Caltech
Harvey Mudd
University of Chicago</p>
<p>One word: Core</p>
<p>Williams is much harder than Brown</p>
<p>MIT which is why legacy or rich bratty kids rarely apply. If you want to learn and get someone substantial out of your education its the only place to go. And have fun.</p>
<p>BRASSMONKEY...agreed.</p>
<p>Reed and UChicago are pretty academically intense...</p>
<p>I also think a factor contributing to why there are fewer legacies at MIT is that they aren't given (as much) preference in admission as its peer schools, and that applicants tend to be more math/science focused, which isn't neccesarily passed down from parent to child (legacies seem more common with schools that aren't as specifically inclined).</p>
<p>That sounds confusing....in other words, both you, and your parents would have to be techish for you to be a legacy at MIT, versus either you, or your parents. Let's pick a peer school; at Princeton, your parent can be into math/sci, or not; you can be into math/sci, or not, and any combination of those would still lead you to consider becoming a legacy at Princeton. I guess in a way I am saying, since the likelihood of two consecutive generations of math/sci extraordinaires is less common then one, or none, MIT would have a smaller interested legacy pool.</p>
<p>MIT does have a broad curriculum, with many distinguished scholars in humanities and social sciences but everyone there is very talented in math/sci.</p>
<p>Caltech would make an even better example. </p>
<p>Can someone chime in as to whether I am making sense?</p>
<p>I'm always curious why Columbia doesn't come up on the difficulty scale. It has core, too :-)</p>
<p>Chicago's tough because there's no way to hide from core, no way to hang out in the back of a big lecture hall, no "easy" classes, no "easy" major. It's either work or more work. Reed also strikes me as extremely intense-- not only the classes, but also the students. I've also heard that Mudd and CalTech are by no means a breeze for similar reasons.</p>
<p>Cornell also strikes me as a difficult school, as does Swarthmore. Both classes have relatively low average GPAs and both expect a lot from their students. At Cornell, however, you can hide a bit.</p>
<p>Reed. Loren Pope describes how it is the toughest undergrad program in the country. Read her article about it in her book.</p>
<p>It's my understanding that Canadian universities like McGill and UT practice serious grade deflation; but the core requirements at McGill are few, I believe.</p>
<p>yeah they are few at mcGill, i think like 4 courses at McGill (you pick to subjects from to different areas(humanities, maths and sciences, and some other one)</p>
<p>so you pick two from 2 of 3 possible groups so it is really flexible, and you are likely to get it all fulfilled with your major/minor classes cause typically you double major, or major with 2 minors.</p>
<p>Toronto is kinda similar, but you have to take 2 classes from all 3 subjects.</p>
<p>whats the course difficulty and worload like at brown in spite of the open curriculum</p>
<p>MIT apparently is considered to have the most severe grade deflation of any school in the nation. I don't know if this is true, but that's the word. Also there was rumors that a class was at one point in recent history C centered (which garuntees at least half the class gets C's or lower), which is absurd.</p>
<p>Some random thoughts about this...</p>
<p>Difficulty depends more on your major than your school. For example, engineering vs studio art. (Perhaps they can both be hard but in different ways. I have known art majors who devote huge hours to it.) But, engineering and physics are killer majors.</p>
<p>Difficulty and workload are subjective. They depend on both the student and the school. A really bad student at Podunk will find the course work overwhelming. So, when you talk about difficulty, it is relative. I think it depends on the student/school relationship.</p>
<p>A genius might find Caltech easy. A "marginal" student might find Podunk difficult. Cornell is known for its heavy workload but a high percent graduate nevertheless because Cornell (like other elite schools) accepts students who can handle it.</p>
<p>If I had to make a blanket statement, I would say that the most difficult schools are the ones with the lowest graduation rates. And, these are NOT the elite schools but they are the less selective schools. The US News overperformance/underperformance statistic gives some idea of how difficult a school is relative to the caliber of its students.</p>
<p>
[quote]
MIT apparently is considered to have the most severe grade deflation of any school in the nation. I don't know if this is true, but that's the word. Also there was rumors that a class was at one point in recent history C centered (which garuntees at least half the class gets C's or lower), which is absurd.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I think Caltech and Mudd are considered to be on the same level of grade deflation. </p>
<p>In my opinion, Caltech, Mudd, and MIT have the hardest grading and curriculum in the country.</p>
<p>Collegehelp, I'd say going by your description, Georgia Tech is a VERY difficult school. I know from my friends as well that it's extremely challenging...I think it just gets overlooked when discussing difficulty.</p>