Reed College

[Anonymous]

My friend attended there and loved it. We looked into it for our child who ended up at Bryn Mawr. But ultimately she didn’t apply for two main reasons. 1. It was across the county. 2. It gives no merit aid (unless that’s changed). I know it’s supposed to be a good school, although it doesn’t participate in rankings. But I wouldn’t say it’s a better school than similar SLACs that do give merit for strong students. Since we didn’t qualify for aid, it would just have felt foolish to spend all of that money when similar schools did help meet the cost. If money is no object, I think it’s the kind of school where you’d probably have to visit to see if you liked the fit. My child really likes Bryn Mawr, but even with taking classes at Haverford one down side of very small schools is that there aren’t that many class offerings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend attended there and loved it. We looked into it for our child who ended up at Bryn Mawr. But ultimately she didn’t apply for two main reasons. 1. It was across the county. 2. It gives no merit aid (unless that’s changed). I know it’s supposed to be a good school, although it doesn’t participate in rankings. But I wouldn’t say it’s a better school than similar SLACs that do give merit for strong students. Since we didn’t qualify for aid, it would just have felt foolish to spend all of that money when similar schools did help meet the cost. If money is no object, I think it’s the kind of school where you’d probably have to visit to see if you liked the fit. My child really likes Bryn Mawr, but even with taking classes at Haverford one down side of very small schools is that there aren’t that many class offerings.

+1 this was our experience for our kid who ended up at Oberlin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend attended there and loved it. We looked into it for our child who ended up at Bryn Mawr. But ultimately she didn’t apply for two main reasons. 1. It was across the county. 2. It gives no merit aid (unless that’s changed). I know it’s supposed to be a good school, although it doesn’t participate in rankings. But I wouldn’t say it’s a better school than similar SLACs that do give merit for strong students. Since we didn’t qualify for aid, it would just have felt foolish to spend all of that money when similar schools did help meet the cost. If money is no object, I think it’s the kind of school where you’d probably have to visit to see if you liked the fit. My child really likes Bryn Mawr, but even with taking classes at Haverford one down side of very small schools is that there aren’t that many class offerings.

Yes, kid would definitely have applied if they had some merit aid. It is a shame because they have the endowment: they offer no merit as part of an equity philosophy, but they end up with a barbell student distribution as a result.

[Anonymous]

Reed is a true gem. Excellent grad school preparation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Yes; accurate description of Reed.

Many, many mentally unstable kids end up there and they generally tend to “self medicate” heavily. It could be described as a party school, though Reed kids party more with high potency marijuana, ecstasy, and LSD.

[Anonymous]

Reed is soon to get rid of qualifying exams potentially: be wary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know about 10 Reed graduates. They all come from wealthy families and because of that were able to go into public interest jobs. I would describe all as people who think they are intellectual, but not actually so; smart but not crazy smart. They seem to fit the mold of the typical NW trust fund, liberal/activist, outdoorsy types.

There are students from wealthy families at all schools, but at other schools, many still decide to go into finance, etc. Reed is doing something right that graduates who can afford to go into public interest, do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

That’s the take from a lot of kids on Reddit and College Confidential. Lots of unhappy kids at Reed.

If you’re looking for liberal arts in the PNW, Whitman or Puget Sound or Williamette are probably a better choice. Their students all seemed happier when we toured. DC is at Williamette and loves it

[Anonymous]

I only know of three kids that went to Reed, and all three changed their genders. That is a very small sample over a number of years, and I’m not sure it means anything but I always thought it was sort of … interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I only know of three kids that went to Reed, and all three changed their genders. That is a very small sample over a number of years, and I’m not sure it means anything but I always thought it was sort of … interesting.

Means nothing in a generation that’s much more likely to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I only know of three kids that went to Reed, and all three changed their genders. That is a very small sample over a number of years, and I’m not sure it means anything but I always thought it was sort of … interesting.

Portland…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I only know of three kids that went to Reed, and all three changed their genders. That is a very small sample over a number of years, and I’m not sure it means anything but I always thought it was sort of … interesting.

Yeah, that fits Reed and the wider Portland society at the moment.

[Anonymous]

For those interested, this is Reed's shorter list of comparison schools:

12 School List

Carleton College, MN
Colorado College, CO
Davidson College, NC
Grinnell College, IA
Hamilton College, NY
Haverford College, PA
Lewis & Clark College, OR
Oberlin College, OH
Occidental College, CA
Pomona College, CA
Swarthmore College, PA
Whitman College, WA

Comparator Schools - Institutional Research - Reed College https://share.google/WvkBw2qptJugGUCPO