Total defeatest attitube. Shit is intense but it is only a couple years prepping you for life. As much as you'd like to think you could, once you get into the workforce it is near impossible to go back to school. Work hard now, get your degree no matter how "intense". Work hard now so you won't have to in the work force.
Well I see what you're saying but there are two reasons why I would perhaps not go with nuclear:
1) The particular subject might not be as interesting to me as I at first have imagined. I'll have to look more into it. If it's my thing, then of course I'd give 110%. But I wouldn't try to study something that I'm not really that fascinated by especially considering how tough it is.
2) The school I go at, it's not too uncommon for people to get their degree in 6-7 years instead of 5 if they're studying something that's really, really physics heavy. Like nuclear or engineering physics. You usually have to be a little bit out of the norm to not have to retake classes in those programs. So since I'm already in my early to mid twenties, I want to be done preferably at 28 or even earlier so I can get my career started. Besides, right now mechanical engineering is the most appealing to me for other reasons as well.
Are you an engineer? If so, what kind of work do you do?