What do you think about Reed College?

[Anonymous]

Never heard of the place before DC started looking at colleges. Since then, have heard good things. What do you think?

[Anonymous]

Intense, intellectual, quirky. Portland's a great city. I met a lot of Reed grads while in grad school at UChicago, and they were all intense and high strung, even by Chicago standards.

[Anonymous]

Very distinctive place. It's so far left now that it's not as hard to get into as it used to be, but at the same time the academics are supposed to be quite intense and it sends an obscene number of graduates to graduate school. I'd say it's a great place for someone who knows as a high school senior that he or she would like to be a college professor some day, but not a great bang-for-the-buck place for other students.

[Anonymous]

I grew up here in NoVA and I only have a vague impression that Reed College may be a private liberal arts college, but, before I read the posts above me, I did not know where it was. I thinking maybe Ohio or somewhere else in the Midwest?

[Anonymous]

Hippy school in the Pacific Northwest. Knew kids who transfered there in college. Have never met a Reed graduate in DC.

[Anonymous]

As noted, it is a very good and intense liberal arts college, mostly West Coast I assume as it has a very strong reputation out West. At one time, it was known for not having grades -- Professors wrote lengthy evaluations of every class (UC Santa Cruz had something similar) but I believe they have moved away from that now, presumably because Grad Schools/Employers had a hard time with it. It is known for sending high % of students to grad school, however.

[Anonymous]

DD looked at it and liked it very much before deciding it was just too far. In terms of academics there is no school, not the ivies, no school that can beat it. All freshman take a required course in classics, juniors have to get through a qualifying exam and then seniors write a thesis. Reed sends more grads to Phd programs than any school except Cal Tech.

While the curriculum is highly structured and traditional the culture of the school is the exact opposite. This is a place where students let their freak fly. For some kids this is fantastic. For others not so much, especially because it is a tiny school.

Definitely visit before drawing conclusions.

[Anonymous]

Superb place for intellectual, motivated, creative, innovative students. Portland is great, too.
Every place has its downside and Reed's might be that undisciplined kids get lost in the drug culture.

[Anonymous]

Reed College is my alma mater, and I have very strong feelings about it. If you went to Reed and graduate, you'll be a Reedie for life; the connection that you have with other Reed alumni and your professors will be intense. But it's not for everyone. You get a rigorous education for sure. The profs there are there because they enjoy teaching and mentoring undergraduates, and I would say by your junior year, your classes are grad school-like. I was a biochemistry major and I had a lot more rigorous training in lab science, science writing, and oral defense than most of my peers in graduate school. My classes at Reed were definitely harder and more intellectually rewarding than my grad classes. I have many friends who went on to get PhDs, but even those who went into law, business, journalism, and medicine were well served by the strong critical thinking and writing skills they obtained at Reed, which is why I have to disagree with the commentator who said that it might not be the best bang for the buck for someone who is not interested in being a college professor. Also because the school is so small and there is such a large network in academia, there is definitely a lot of networking that happens there. I pretty much know someone who has gone through every top 20 graduate program in my field. As far as name recognition goes, some random person on the street might not be impressed unless you are in the Pacific Northwest, but everyone I have met in every field who has a connection to academia in some capacity is and it has opened doors for me.

Reed is incredibly liberal, and definitely a place where you can let your freak flag fly. If you are a preppy republican, you probably won't be happy socially. But I think the drug culture reputation gets overhyped. There is a small, vocal minority who are strongly involved in the drug culture, and most of them flunk out by the end of freshman year. Although there is definitely some experimentation going on, the curriculum is too challenging to do drugs all the time. I think part of it is that since it is a small, residential campus in a liberal state drugs are treated more like a safety and health issue. There isn't a zero tolerance policy on campus with campus security, because campus security wants you to feel comfortable calling them in an emergency. In general, I think this is a good thing and it prevents situations like someone dying from alcohol poisoning because people are afraid of getting kicked out, but of course with 18-22 year olds, some will abuse it.

I think part of the reason why it is easier to get into than a lot of schools that are considered comparable academically, not just because of it's liberal reputation, but because it is a niche school. The admissions officers are looking for people who will be a good fit, and not necessarily the people who look the best on paper. Thus, they might take a chance with a student who got a few Cs, but shows a real intellectual passion. There are also a lot of "square peg in round hole" type brilliant people who maybe don't look perfect on paper. Reed has a really high attrition rate, because it's not for everyone. If you aren't willing to work really hard and aren't excited about being in an intellectual atmosphere, it's not for you.

The grading policy is widely misunderstood. Reed wants to emphasize learning for learning's sake and de-emphesize grades. Thus, unless you request a transcript or ask a faculty member, you don't have access to your grades. Every semester you get a note that says "satisfactory" if you have a C or better in a class. Although grades are recorded, your papers are handed back with comments and your tests are handed back with corrections but not letter grades. In this sense, you get a general sense if you are doing well or poorly, but not necessarily if you have an A or a B. There is also very little grade inflation--there have been only ten people to graduate with a 4.0 in the history of the college. I had a couple classes where I worked by butt off to get a B- or C. But when you get an A, you know you really earned it. In my experience, graduate schools generally understand this, even to a degree medical and law schools. But if you are the type that is really motivated by grades, this policy might drive you (or your parents) crazy. The upside to this is the school operates on an honor principle, which means none of the exams, even closed book exams are proctored and you can have take-home closed book exams. Since there is huge cultural pressure to have intellectual and academic integrity and not a focus on grade-grubbing competition, this works, much to the incredulity of outsiders.

Being in Portland is also nice, because you can get out of the bubble of a residential campus more so than many LACs. Also in the sciences there was access to Oregon Health Science University for instrumentation/techniques that were not available on campus.

If you are an intellectually oriented, motivated, passionate student, then I think an undergraduate education at Reed is unparalleled. If any of what I wrote above does not appeal to you, then it won't be the place for you.

[Anonymous]

DC is at Sarah Lawrence and plans to attend Reed junior year as an exchange student. SLC and Reed offer exchange programs with each other.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a great niche school. I'm impressed by a school that can produce such a passionate, thoughtful overview by its graduates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reed College is my alma mater, and I have very strong feelings about it. If you went to Reed and graduate, you'll be a Reedie for life; the connection that you have with other Reed alumni and your professors will be intense. But it's not for everyone. You get a rigorous education for sure. The profs there are there because they enjoy teaching and mentoring undergraduates, and I would say by your junior year, your classes are grad school-like. I was a biochemistry major and I had a lot more rigorous training in lab science, science writing, and oral defense than most of my peers in graduate school. My classes at Reed were definitely harder and more intellectually rewarding than my grad classes. I have many friends who went on to get PhDs, but even those who went into law, business, journalism, and medicine were well served by the strong critical thinking and writing skills they obtained at Reed, which is why I have to disagree with the commentator who said that it might not be the best bang for the buck for someone who is not interested in being a college professor. Also because the school is so small and there is such a large network in academia, there is definitely a lot of networking that happens there. I pretty much know someone who has gone through every top 20 graduate program in my field. As far as name recognition goes, some random person on the street might not be impressed unless you are in the Pacific Northwest, but everyone I have met in every field who has a connection to academia in some capacity is and it has opened doors for me.

Reed is incredibly liberal, and definitely a place where you can let your freak flag fly. If you are a preppy republican, you probably won't be happy socially. But I think the drug culture reputation gets overhyped. There is a small, vocal minority who are strongly involved in the drug culture, and most of them flunk out by the end of freshman year. Although there is definitely some experimentation going on, the curriculum is too challenging to do drugs all the time. I think part of it is that since it is a small, residential campus in a liberal state drugs are treated more like a safety and health issue. There isn't a zero tolerance policy on campus with campus security, because campus security wants you to feel comfortable calling them in an emergency. In general, I think this is a good thing and it prevents situations like someone dying from alcohol poisoning because people are afraid of getting kicked out, but of course with 18-22 year olds, some will abuse it.

I think part of the reason why it is easier to get into than a lot of schools that are considered comparable academically, not just because of it's liberal reputation, but because it is a niche school. The admissions officers are looking for people who will be a good fit, and not necessarily the people who look the best on paper. Thus, they might take a chance with a student who got a few Cs, but shows a real intellectual passion. There are also a lot of "square peg in round hole" type brilliant people who maybe don't look perfect on paper. Reed has a really high attrition rate, because it's not for everyone. If you aren't willing to work really hard and aren't excited about being in an intellectual atmosphere, it's not for you.

The grading policy is widely misunderstood. Reed wants to emphasize learning for learning's sake and de-emphesize grades. Thus, unless you request a transcript or ask a faculty member, you don't have access to your grades. Every semester you get a note that says "satisfactory" if you have a C or better in a class. Although grades are recorded, your papers are handed back with comments and your tests are handed back with corrections but not letter grades. In this sense, you get a general sense if you are doing well or poorly, but not necessarily if you have an A or a B. There is also very little grade inflation--there have been only ten people to graduate with a 4.0 in the history of the college. I had a couple classes where I worked by butt off to get a B- or C. But when you get an A, you know you really earned it. In my experience, graduate schools generally understand this, even to a degree medical and law schools. But if you are the type that is really motivated by grades, this policy might drive you (or your parents) crazy. The upside to this is the school operates on an honor principle, which means none of the exams, even closed book exams are proctored and you can have take-home closed book exams. Since there is huge cultural pressure to have intellectual and academic integrity and not a focus on grade-grubbing competition, this works, much to the incredulity of outsiders.

Being in Portland is also nice, because you can get out of the bubble of a residential campus more so than many LACs. Also in the sciences there was access to Oregon Health Science University for instrumentation/techniques that were not available on campus.

If you are an intellectually oriented, motivated, passionate student, then I think an undergraduate education at Reed is unparalleled. If any of what I wrote above does not appeal to you, then it won't be the place for you.

TMi, or at least too much Kool Aid.

[Anonymous]

DC is at Sarah Lawrence and plans to attend Reed junior year as an exchange student. SLC and Reed offer exchange programs with each other.

Reedie poster again. I hear Reed and Sarah Lawrence compared a lot, but I think the main difference between Reed and some other LACs, like Sarah Lawrence is that Reed is strong not just in humanities, but all over. There is literally no traditional academic department that is bad at Reed (but there is also no film studies or communications, no performing arts, and no engineering). Biology, chemistry, physics, and math are all very strong.

[Anonymous]

Sarah Lawrence definitely has a similar vibe but as PP pointed out, its pretty much only for the humanities. SL is also for intellectuals who move to the beat of their own drummer.

[Anonymous]

I'm a Reed grad as well. While I agree with everything the other Reedie said, I want to point out that Reed is a Great School for the Right Student. I wasn't the right student, and college felt like the longest, darkest haul of my life.

Reed provides a great environment and rich network for many students, but it can also be disorienting and alienating for other students. I sincerely believe that Reed's academic education is superior to nearly anything else available, and it might be an ideal school for someone who with a strong sense of self who wants a classical education or to go on in academia. However, it's also intense and quirky in ways that absolutely wore me down, and I personally wish I had had the self awareness to transfer elsewhere after a couple of years rather than feel compelled to push through to graduation. I know that Reed is working to improve its support for students, so maybe it's a better environment now - I sure hope so!