alt Hacker NewsI went to an R1 university. Most students did not have a 60-80 hour grind. If they did, it was because of an overbearing advisor. Years later, those students are not ahead of those who had a more relaxed advisor.
And chances are: Those overbearing advisors are very invested in the current system.
it varies enormously by field.
in CS you will have intense grind weeks around conference deadlines and a more manageable but challenging pace of life otherwise.
in wet lab science you live by the schedule set by your experiments, which often involves intense hours.