There's nothing hard about college. At least in my experience. But it does wear on you.
Here's three simple steps:
1. Listen. Really... Listen, read, pay attention to the material in whatever form it comes to you.
2. Find out what you educator expects from you. Sometimes harder than others, but in almost every case you'll have it by the time the first test is or paper is over. Only time this becomes a problem is when you only have 2 tests or papers the entire semester.
3. Give the educator what they're looking for. Sometimes they expect a lot. Sometimes they expect little. Sometimes they want you to meet their expectations, TO THE LETTER. Sometimes they're more open about what they want, but in every case, there is something they expect, something they're looking out for, so do your best to give it to them.
Once you understand that, and know how to make it work, there is nothing about college that is hard. At that point it simply becomes tedious. I burnt out in high school. Not because it was hard, but because it was tedious. My last year I didn't care and I didn't try, and I barely pulled C average grades. College started, and I was good for the first two years. My first year I failed a few major assignments and only managed middling grades, but that was just as I was figuring out the system. My second year I did great, only missing a bit because I had to take some math and never had a head for it. My third and fourth years, however, I just went through the motions. I was tired, but I was over half way there. By that point, however, I'd figured out how to deal with the system. Even with only half-hearted effort I still did pretty well.
In conclusion: College is not hard. You just have to keep at it, give them what they want, and not get distracted.
In restrospect: Might not have been the best thread for it, but hell, I'm not throwing this away now.