Reed College

[Anonymous]

Looking seriously at Reed for our son, who has a deep interest in history.

It seems like a good environment. Socially progressive but academically traditional. No modern flashy majors. No business or marketing. A focus on liberal arts and sciences.

I've been very impressed with Oxford and Cambridge graduates where the emphasis is on depth rather than breadth. A lot of people even at Ivies often graduate with only a superficial knowledge of their subjects. The average Oxbridge history grad probably knows much as history as an American MA in history.

Reed seems to get the balance right. They get a general education in the humanities and distribution requirements, but in-depth study of their subjects including a required thesis for all.

Very high number of students go on to get PhD's too. Only moderately competitive in terms of admissions, but self-selected. This isn't a trendy college, or somewhere where management consultants recruit etc.

Can anyone speak to the Reed experience?

[Anonymous]

very high % students go on to get PHDs

Why is this good? They couldn’t get employed with an undergrad degree? What fields warrant a PHD? Universities are cutting tenure so the future of the Professor path forward is bleak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:very high % students go on to get PHDs

Why is this good? They couldn’t get employed with an undergrad degree? What fields warrant a PHD? Universities are cutting tenure so the future of the Professor path forward is bleak.

That is a very strange take and it betrays a lack of knowledge about academia and education.

[Anonymous]

The DD of my close friend goes there. She is transferring to University of Oregon in the fall. Loves Oregon, but Reed is very small and very stressful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is this good? They couldn’t get employed with an undergrad degree? What fields warrant a PHD? Universities are cutting tenure so the future of the Professor path forward is bleak.

This type of thinking isn't prevalent among those considering Reed in the first place. A sad and strange take.

[Anonymous]

My kid applied to and got into Reed. In the end, he didn't choose to go. It was pretty expensive and far from here. I suspect that for the right kid, its a great landing spot.

[Anonymous]

Education for Education’s Sake

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Education for Education’s Sake

Yep

[Anonymous]

I have known two people who graduated from there. One of them is a heroin addict. This is not recent but I don’t think the drug culture has changed too much. It’s a very intense and intellectual place. Probably not helpful info but it’s what I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:very high % students go on to get PHDs

Why is this good? They couldn’t get employed with an undergrad degree? What fields warrant a PHD? Universities are cutting tenure so the future of the Professor path forward is bleak.

That is a very strange take and it betrays a lack of knowledge about academia and education.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have known two people who graduated from there. One of them is a heroin addict. This is not recent but I don’t think the drug culture has changed too much. It’s a very intense and intellectual place. Probably not helpful info but it’s what I know.

+1 SUPER smart... but pony

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have known two people who graduated from there. One of them is a heroin addict. This is not recent but I don’t think the drug culture has changed too much. It’s a very intense and intellectual place. Probably not helpful info but it’s what I know.

The one current student I know was previously institutionalized but I think is doing much better now. It's probably the right place for the right kid.

[Anonymous]

My impression of Reed is that it has an "intellectual" sub-culture, which fits with the high number of students who go on to get PhDs. It's also know to be more progressive/far left than your typical college campus.

Have also heard about the drug culture. Not sure if it's worse than other colleges.

The one thing that I'd suggest you look into more is the 4 year graduation rate, which hovers around 60%. That's pretty low. Anecdotally I've known two students who went to Reed and then transferred out, and I wonder if that's a meaningful factor in the 4-year grad numbers. (At least one of those kids has some underlying mental health issues, which is why he left--he stopped out of college.) The small sample of kids I know who have gone to Reed would be best described as a little quirky. (I say that as a parent of a quirky kid, not with judgment.)

My impression is that it's a unique culture and if that culture is a good fit, it can be a great place, but look closely and ask a lot of questions to find out if your kid is a good match.

[Anonymous]

PP, just answered one of the questions I asked above:

Online source says Reed's transfer-out rate is 18%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking seriously at Reed for our son, who has a deep interest in history.

It seems like a good environment. Socially progressive but academically traditional. No modern flashy majors. No business or marketing. A focus on liberal arts and sciences.

I've been very impressed with Oxford and Cambridge graduates where the emphasis is on depth rather than breadth. A lot of people even at Ivies often graduate with only a superficial knowledge of their subjects. The average Oxbridge history grad probably knows much as history as an American MA in history.

Reed seems to get the balance right. They get a general education in the humanities and distribution requirements, but in-depth study of their subjects including a required thesis for all.

Very high number of students go on to get PhD's too. Only moderately competitive in terms of admissions, but self-selected. This isn't a trendy college, or somewhere where management consultants recruit etc.

Can anyone speak to the Reed experience?

OMG I would not describe the actual, real life Reed culture like what you were saying at all. Look at St Johns in Annapolis instead. Reed seriously has always had a lot of unstable kids, with a VERY small Uber left intellectual group that the market the heck out of.