<p>“Reed actually sends more students to top grad schools than almost any other college in America.”</p>
<p>By percentage of graduates, not by absolute numbers (Reed is small, 1481 total students), and the only hard percentage I’ve seen is for PhD completions, where Reed is third in the country for all combined fields, behind Caltech and Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>I went to Reed many years ago.</p>
<p>I think the difficulty of academics at Reed tends to be a little overstated on CC. I studied for 6 hours a day, I think that is pretty typical for a college student. The junior qualifying exam is not a big deal. Most people pass, it is more a time when a department gives the final no to someone who has been seeing no all along. The defense of the senior thesis is more of a social gathering where you and the professors who attend celebrate your having upcoming graduation. When I was there the average grade was a B-, that is actually grade inflation if you go by the statistical model of a C being average.</p>
<p>Reed and Amherst are similar in that they are both small LACs. They are quite different in their personality. Whenever I talk to someone who is thinking of going to Reed I tell them they should visit. It has a strong personality, it isn’t for everyone. The visit usually tells people exactly what they need to know, they either love it or don’t care for it.</p>
<p>Here’s another aspect of Reed that some people like and some people don’t, the deemphasis of grades. That really appealed to me, learning for learning’s sake. Reed used to not give grades at all, the professors would write a paragraph about each student instead. They had to abandon this because it was too hard for graduate schools to discern how each student had REALLY performed. When I was there report cards were not distributed, if a student wanted to know what their grades were they had to ask their advisor.</p>
<p>As far as prestige goes, that would have to be Amherst.</p>
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Yes, percentages, not gross numbers. This is obviously a far more valid measure.</p>
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I could be wrong, but I think Reed has always had grades. They just are not written on papers or exams by most professors. It depends on the prof on the subject. Grades are still recorded each semester on students’ transcripts. I do not believe this has changed.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for all the advice guys! I’m choosing Amherst. I think the two schools should be similar academically, so it comes down to the social life. Amherst is part of the five college consortium, so there will be far more students to meet and interact with. Reed seems quite secluded, which is not so appealing.</p>
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<p>No, I’m going way back now, 50 years maybe, but Reed used to not give grades at all. They couldn’t maintain that but their deemphasis of grades continues.</p>
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According to what or whom?</p>
<p>It was a decision you couldn’t miss with vergilfan1. Good for you and good luck.</p>
<p>many of the best and brightest students decide not to pursue PHD’s and, instead, will get MBA’s and Law Degrees from the top Business and Law Schools. Amherst students follow this path more intensely than Reed students.</p>
<p>here is an example of some of the results:</p>
<p>Amherst = #9
Reed = #50</p>
<p><a href=“WSJ in Higher Education | Trusted News & Real-World Insights”>WSJ in Higher Education | Trusted News & Real-World Insights;
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Are you positive about that? Why don’t you call the Reed registrar’s office and see if you have a transcript waiting for you. You might be surprised.</p>
<p>@JohnAdams12:
For the record, I’m definitely not going to go for an MBA or a Law degree or whatever. Not interested. I want to follow my own interests, which are science, eastern philosophy and religion, and languages. Amherst would be a good platform for a career as a research scientist, right?</p>
<p>I think that ‘prestigious’ is not a really strong basis by which to select an academic institution for learning. Over and over people are attracted to school names rather than actually thinking about the many many many facets of the college experience - both short term and long term. I know folks who obtained Phd’s from MIT and other ‘elite’ schools who went to relatively unknown undergrad programs - but they were passionate about what they learned and did well. Ultimately when you are living your life you want it to be about more than the name on your sweatshirt. </p>
<p>I will add that at the grad level particular school STRENGTHS come into play - and that sometimes certain schools will get preferential funding due to name and reputation etc - and that may make a bigger difference. </p>
<p>Reed and Amherst have different cultures and it is worth examining those cultures for a fit rather than to focus on some ranking or presumed prestige.</p>
<p>Can someone who has visited/attended each please describe the different cultures?</p>
<p>Congratulations vergilfan1! Amherst does indeed have something wonderful going on with its consortium and I’m sure you’ll love it.</p>
<p>Pea and benny1, I don’t know how exactly it worked in Olde Reed, but New Reed is slightly more grade conscious. I mean there’s still “learning for the sake of learning”, but there’s an awareness that there’s a whole world out there-internships, jobs that depend on grades.The most interesting approach I know of is by this Reedie who’s going to be a Senior this fall. She and her roommate from freshman year decided theywould check each other’s grades, instead of having the pressure of checking their own grades. In effect, her roommate knows which study abroad programmes, internships and the like she’s eligible for and vice versa. She figures she’ll only really check her transcript when she’s ready to apply to law/graduate school.</p>
<p>Okay I know I’ll be hated for this, but Reed has among the best Chinese Civilization Departments in Liberal Arts Colleges. The poet and Beat Generation legendGary Snyderwas an Anthropology/Eastern Civilizations major at Reed and we have some amazing faculty, like Ken Brashier. </p>
<p>Also, for being a research scientist Reed trumps Amherst. Just for that, if you please. Although, it’s not ruled out if you attend Amherst-these are things more dependent on the person’s drive than the college he/she attends.</p>
<p>vergilfan1, what specific questions do you have about Reed’s campus culture? I’d try and answer them for you or get them answered by a current Reedie. I’ve never visited Reed either, but I’ve met a number of Reedies and I’m fairly aware of how Reed works.</p>
<p>A consortium is something I wish Reed had to, so I understand where you’re coming from, but Reed still has Portland the Reed bubble makes up for everything else.</p>
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That matches exactly with what I described. </p>
<p>I went to Reed a while back and, believe it or not, we had internships and grad schools that required grades back in the dark ages, too. Although there were always the flakey types or trust funders (typically both in one person) who did not seem to care about their future. I did not obsessively check my grades because I had an excellent idea of how I was doing based on instructor feedback which is very specific. Like your friend, I didn’t see my entire transcript until I applied to grad school because it was not going to change anything. There were no significant surprises. When I got to grad school, I was obsessive about tracking my grades. Making up for lost time, probably.</p>
<p>I’m worried that it will have a significant population of sad people who broadcast weirdness as the main feature of their personality. I had a look on Reed’s facebook page, and there are some fairly ridiculous comments about ‘pure learning’ and all that. I like the philosophy of the place, but I’m worried that some students get a little carried away with it, and sort of misunderstand it. I just want to be around unpretentious, relaxed people.</p>
<p>Haha, benny1, I’m so afraid of not checking grades, for fear of losing track, I think I’ll drive my advisor insane.</p>
<p>vergilfan1, Amherst is not any less pretentious. These are two elite, private Liberal Arts Colleges with a significant population of students from rich families who also happen to be very smart.I know Reedies pride themselves on their intellectualism, and are known to be “quirky”, they’re also pretty normal. There’s fun stuff like Paideia and Renn Fayre-I don’t know how “normal” that is, but it’s not sad.</p>
<p>hmm my future as a research scientist won’t be compromised if I choose Amherst, right?</p>