I have taken online classes and they may not be in a classroom setting , but they are just as hard as in-class. I went the traditional route for my degree and i can compare both ways, they both hold equal weight when it comes to class load.

So you were fortunate to go to Harvard live and in-person, doesn't mean the person who works f/t, has a family , and does the degree online at night is a lessor person. They worked equally as hard as you did and paid the same tuition as well as struggled with the same grades assigned by the same professors.
I think it i s harder online because you don't have that classroom interaction and you have to really force yourself to be disciplined to sit in front of a computer to do the work vs showing up for class.