Ah, It's not over yet! Reed vs. St. John's

Parents Forum
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<p>Oh dear. I thought this whole decision thing was over and I was quite happy with my St. John’s college in MD choice until…</p>

<p>I got into Reed off of the waitlist. yikes. Reed was my first choice school for the longest time so this was quite a WOW for me. But obviously, I am now presented with two very good schools for me and absolutely no way to pick. So I present this to you, wonderful parents, since i received so much input before. </p>

<p>The things that are important to me are good academics and the type of environment i could really fit into- pretty much the same for most. But what i mean by the latter is the people- how I like it. So, generally, I prefer Reed academics in that i get to choose but still have this great books element, but I like st john’s socially and in other aspects. So…Which is more important? Liking it academically or liking it otherwise? Just for ruminations, i’ll write up this list of what one school has over the other…maybe i’ll be enlightened.</p>

<p>The reasons Reed is better than St. John’s: </p>

<li>the people, in general, seem a bit less ‘safe’ and more interesting…but also sort of arrogant, slightly…please dont be offended, this was just my opinion and PLEASE correct me…well that isnt really a + for reed, but oh well.</li>
<li>the philosophy department is one of the best in the country</li>
<li>downtown portland is far away enough that i can not be distracted, but close enough to get there really fast- in other words, i really like the environment.</li>
<li>more prestigious, i suppose?</li>
<li>if i ended up hating it, i would be able to FOR SURE transfer my credits. st john’s might be a bit iffy?</li>
<li>I. LOVE. THE. LIBRARY. and really, the whole campus. </li>
</ol>

<p>The reasons St. John’s trumps Reed</p>

<li>the people are just friendlier.</li>
<li>i might learn to love subjects i did not in HS.</li>
<li>it is FAR more balanced- Reed is quite extreme, but st john’s has a good balance of play+work.</li>
</ol>

<p>I also visited both schools but i visited reed the weekend before it ended so i did not really get to give it a good…chance, so i was not as excited adn couldn’t get teh whole feel.</p>

<p>Ah, thanks in advance for all the help. I realize that nothing is going to change to make my decision easier, but perhaps any insights or input about either school would be greatly appreciated. Last note- yulsie+davidav thanks you both so much for the help in the past about St. John’s…</p>

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<p>The recent posts of yours that I just browsed through, as well as the one I am replying to, sound to me (a bystander) as though you strongly prefer Reed and want to go there. You even excuse seeming negatives about Reed (your "last weekend" visit). So, why not just go there, now that you have the chance?</p>

<p>"I might learn to love subjects that I hated in HS". Is that really among the best few things you can say about St. John's College? That is condemnation by (very) faint praise.</p>

<p>It sounds to me that in your heart of hearts you want to go to Reed. So go, or come up with much better reasons not to.</p>

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<p>I'd say go with your instincts and go to Reed.</p>

<p>Plus I'm a little biased because of my last name (Reed).</p>

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<p>Annapolis is a great walking town..I really like it a lot..and who couldn't love St. John's unique Great Books brio and originality? But I have to vote for Reed...I think it is the school that is the best foundation for liberal arts and hard sciences and you won't spend a lot of your adult life "explaining" the curriculum..Reed delivers a more balanced core for tomorrow's high tech world IMHO. Just a vote, although I am sure you can love either school. Best!</p>

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<p>If you are into education for the sake of learning, you certainly won't go wrong with St. Johns. They have a phenominal success rate with graduate and professional schools. Reed, however, has set majors and more diversification if you change your mind. From what you are saying, Reed might be the better fit. However, you might want to reevaluate St. Johns. Annapolis is a great place to go to school! Just save me some of those crab cakes.</p>

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<p>If you are into academics, Reed is one of the best places, hands down. No question about it..</p>

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<p>If you go to the Swarthmore forum, you will get a lot of info on Reed's PhD production numbers. See the posts by Interesteddad there. The point is not to think about these numbers and say Reed is for future professors, the point is, Reed provides a wonderful education that turns people into critical thinkers who can be good at anything.</p>

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<p>It does seem that the preponderance of factors points towards Reed.</p>

<p>About St. Johns having people that are friendlier...have you considered a) small sample size and b) while being simpatico is important, it's only important to a certain threshhold? E.g., if there are enough people you click with at Reed, then that's enough? I mean, Disneyland has a lot of friendly people but you couldn't get me to go to college there.</p>

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<p>There's another factor that hasn't been mentioned: the size of the two schools. St. John's is TINY with just about 400 people. If you end up not liking someone there, it will be a lot harder to avoid them than it will be at Reed, which isn't huge, but at least larger. </p>

<p>But, aside from that, I think the education you would receive at either school will be stellar and on par, just very different. So, if you are not absolutely 100% certain that St. John's unique curriculum is right for you, go to Reed. </p>

<p>In any case, don't sweat this decision too much. Take the weekend to sleep on it, discuss it with your parents, maybe a trusted teacher or your guidance counselor, and when you wake up on Monday, trust the very first thing that pops into your mind about the choice. You really will not go wrong either way.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>I live in the Eastmoreland neighborhood (where Reed is located). And as such - my kids would not consider Reed ("I could live WHERE?")</p>

<p>We moved here 15 years ago from the LA area - and Portland is one of the best cities to live in - and we love the "Reedies". Have used many as tutors for my kids (one gone to Uof WA - #2 a junior in HS - #3- 7th grade) Always interesting. creative thinkers.</p>

<p>Hey - Trader's Joe's is only about 6 blocks away! Can't beat that!</p>

<p>(I know I am probably not helping....)
janenw</p>

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<p>I like that neighborhood, except I have trouble finding my way around Portland because I rely on Washingtons two mountain ranges ( Cascades and Olympics) to navigate- Mt Hood just doesn't cut it.
My daughter loves Reed, but I think it is too small.
( Of course st johns would be even smaller)
I really don't know much about St Johns, it sounds really interesting, but obviously even more self selected of a group than Reed.
We just visited last weekend for graduation,and I promised I would check out the reputation for smokers. I can't say that I noticed very many, certainly not the numbers that others say they have seen. There was someone smoking a cigar that was very annoying, but I only smelled it, didn't see it.
Very rainy, but the dog loved it. When we came home she slept for three days.</p>

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<p>I found it interesting that you didn't list distance as a pro or con. These schools are thousands of miles apart you should have some preference to be further or closer to home. I am sure you have already thought of this, but I wonder why you don't include it in your final list.</p>

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<p>Hmm, I didn't get the impression that the OP has a definite preference for Reed. These schools are both so awesome it's almost painful for me to imagine having to choose between them.</p>

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<p>emeraldkity4, if they are talking about smokers at Reed, they mean marijuana.</p>

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<p>ha ha but um no, several people had mentioned how many people smoke tobacco there and while I know that they smoke in the student union even though I beleive that is illegal under the Portland fire code. That had been a real turn off for several students/parents.
I have once seen students who were probably intending to smoke cannabis. I beleive it was my daughters sophmore year during o-week and my husband says that some students were going under the blue bridge with a bong ( I saw them out of the corner of my eye)
I don't have a problem with students who are old enough to drink alcohol smoking marijuana. I dont think that they deserve their reputation although I know they do their best to maintain it. ;)
My daughter tells me a story about going to a party in one of the dorms and her friend commented that they had interesting incense. My daughter had to tell her, that , that was pot smoke. Her friend had been there as long as she had, but had never been exposed to it before. At a school of 1300 there just aren't that many secrets( unless you are talking about the Doyle Owl).</p>

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<p>Wow thanks for all the responses. I'm going to try to respond to them all, so here goes.</p>

<p>ADad: That actually is a very big factor- for example, when i sat in on a St. John's math class... i absolutely loved it. it was one of the most interesting classes i've ever been in, which was great because i felt like my high school preferences would not determine the course of my whole life. </p>

<p>Codasco: thanks for the input. any reasons why? </p>

<p>Faline: I love annapolis too! for sure a great walking town, the only negative is i'd get so distracted!</p>

<p>taxguy: i'm a vegitarian =( no crab cakes for me.</p>

<p>achat: I've seen that site- it is quite impressive. St. John's comes up a few times too but Reed, for sure, dominates that bit.</p>

<p>TheDad: ah, to go to school in disneyland..you do bring up 2 good points about my student body notice... what i meant by that is that at st john's, people would actually come up to me and ask 'are you a prospie?' and give me info..whereas reed wasn't as much, so st john's just seemed more welcoming..and of course, as 1 stated, i really did not get to talk to a lot of reed people, since school was out already.</p>

<p>carolyn: i thought of that too! how will i avoid people i cant stand?! or what if of the 400 people..NO ONE LIKES ME?! ahh..troubling questions indeed. ive been leaning towards reed for the suggestion you just gave me.. for a few days, i'd wake up and think OH NO I HAVE TO GO TO ST JOHN'S and then as the day went by, decided reed. but finally, yesterday, i woke up and felt really really good about reed, just like today, so that really does work!</p>

<p>janenw: I LOVE THE TRADER JOES! i love the limbo next to it too, especially love that the two stores are practically the same thing. i was walking down woodstock and it seemed sort of dead but i found some nice coffee shops and in the other direction, this ..fruit/veggie stand with the best salsa ive ever had, ever, ever. but thats about it. it was nice though =) very green! and of course you helped! i really wanted to get a portland person's views on reed, since the family i stayed with hadn't ever heard of it...weird.</p>

<p>emeraldkitty: i like reed's size =) and about smokers: there really are a LOT of smokers, more than where i live anyway. but people don't smoke in dorms so thats ok.</p>

<p>catsmeow: oh, good point, i sort of forgot. there really are pros and cons to both- oregon is a lot like california, more diverse and cheaper tickets and maryland is totally different and new (exciting!) less diverse, and costs more. really, they both have their pluses.. my parents like reed because its closer though =) can keep better in touch with my california friends..</p>

<p>august: oh yah, its horrible. i was actually surprised when i read about my apparent preference because i didnt know i showed that..but everyone did bring up pretty good points to support that assertion.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the input =) I haven't made a decision yet, partially because reed has not yet sent me my packet (they only told me by email and phone) but i will be srue to post my decision in here. Thank you again!</p>

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<p>So wondrlst... which have you decided? =)</p>

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<p>ohh i thought i posted that but now i see i didnt! i ended up choosing reed. thanks for the interest ladylazarus =)</p>

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<p>Congratulations!!! Reed will be amazing... good luck in Portland next year =)</p>

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<p>Have a golden first year at Reed...excellent school!</p>