Anonymous
Post 11/17/2025 12:00     Subject: Reed College
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
Post 11/17/2025 11:42     Subject: Reed College
Reed is a true gem. Excellent grad school preparation.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2025 09:29     Subject: Reed College
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
Post 11/17/2025 08:47     Subject: Reed College
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
Post 11/17/2025 08:08     Subject: Reed College
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
Post 11/16/2025 07:03     Subject: Reed College
Reed is a pressure bomb- not for lightweights.
Anonymous
Post 12/18/2024 11:50     Subject: Re:Reed College
DS attends for English and has found it exhilirating! Very demanding academics and for his comparative literature major he’s learning across disciplines. The junior qualifying exam forces you to take courses beyond a few cult profs in order to pass, which adds to academic diversity and ability to navigate difficult ideas you may not necessarily agree with. 100% would recommend
Anonymous
Post 02/16/2023 19:59     Subject: Reed College
Anonymous wrote:
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.


Reed is anything but stressful that’s ridiculous


You don't know what you're talking about. The students are intense, the required courses are intense, and there's a senior thesis with qualifying exam (unless things have changed). There is no grade inflation, they send very few to medical school because of this.

As it happens, the Reedies I know have security clearances, and zero history of drug use. As with most privates, it is a very wealthy student body, but that is very stealth.


Reedie here. I was talking to a professor and member of the National Academy of Sciences who went to Reed (as did his wife who is a very successful physician at a research hospital). They sent all three of their kids to Reed. But when his oldest was applying to colleges, he was concerned about the stress culture at Reed and whether it would be good for his son. This is a guy who lives one of the most stressful, busy lives I can imagine and who has worked in all kinds of intense cutthroat environments. Thought it was interesting.

I personally found Reed to be quite stressful, but other stages of my career have been as well.
Anonymous
Post 02/16/2023 18:25     Subject: Re:Reed College
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.
Anonymous
Post 02/16/2023 18:12     Subject: Reed College
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.


Reed is anything but stressful that’s ridiculous


You don't know what you're talking about. The students are intense, the required courses are intense, and there's a senior thesis with qualifying exam (unless things have changed). There is no grade inflation, they send very few to medical school because of this.

As it happens, the Reedies I know have security clearances, and zero history of drug use. As with most privates, it is a very wealthy student body, but that is very stealth.
Anonymous
Post 02/16/2023 16:56     Subject: Re:Reed College
DP -- I attended a different Pacific Northwest LAC in the mid-80s and am taking my teen to visit that school, Reed, and some others over spring break. At the time, Reed was considered intellectually rigorous and culturally alternative ... these are our first college visits so I don't know how much of the real culture you can pick up on a tour and admissions info session, but I will be curious to see if those kind of differences stand out across the schools we visit (rather than the personalities of the admission department or the campus architecture).

Anonymous
Post 02/16/2023 16:27     Subject: Re:Reed College
Moved here 2 years ago. I was familiar with William and Mary but didn't know about the joint degree with St. Andrew's.
Anonymous
Post 02/16/2023 16:19     Subject: Reed College
Anonymous wrote:Just had a look at William and Mary. This really sounds like a great program, allows you to get the best of both American (liberal arts) and British (subject depth) undergraduate education.


I’m guessing you’re not in the DMV? Most in the area know about William and Mary and its liberal arts strengths, especially in history and government. It’s fantastic in these subjects.
Anonymous
Post 02/16/2023 15:05     Subject: Reed College
Just had a look at William and Mary. This really sounds like a great program, allows you to get the best of both American (liberal arts) and British (subject depth) undergraduate education.
Anonymous
Post 02/16/2023 15:01     Subject: Reed College
Anonymous wrote:You might want to consider Franklin & Marshall or William & Mary. The latter has a program for history majors that allow them to study for two years at St. Andrew's in Scotland.


Thank you.