A college education is meant to be tough, the anxiety and stress levels it causes are for many students the first time they've come under such stress. It's nothing like what they've seen before and there isn't much that could've prepared them for this. From research assignments to group projects, to presentations everything has a short deadline and a lot of material.
Colleges challenge an individual in every department, be that analytical, social or professional. One of these challenges is long writing assignments which range from 8000 words to 15,000 words. These assignments include every possible parameter that there can be about a topic, and it judges a student on how long they can write about a particular thing. These projects require structuring, research, literature, and expertise.
Plus, they also require stamina and willpower. The most important thing about these assignments is consistency, which is hard to find as at times these assignments get redundant. However, recent research has shown that these long assignments aren't really beneficial for students and more creative ways are available to judge these parameters of students' ability.
For this reason, many US colleges are receding from these kinds of assignments, and are looking for more innovative and creative methods to train students for the industry, which requires analytical students who can be concise about their analysis.