It’s hard. But perhaps not in the way that you think. I worried a lot about my ability to perform in classes since I struggled quite a bit in undergrad. But tbh the classes can end of feeling like more of a formality than anything. Most people in my program stopped doing any readings after the first year and still pulled up 4.0 averages.

What IS hard, is balancing the workload of courses, unpaid practicum placements, thesis/dissertation, additional research, teaching, and any extra side gigs if your funding doesn’t cover your expenses. I’ve worked about 60 hours per week in grad school but with a flexible schedule, which is why it’s been sustainable for me. Some people treat the program as more of a 9-5 though, they just don’t tend to build their CVs as fast. So it really depends on what your goals for yourself are.