<p>Yes, I know this is the Christian colleges page, but I'm posting my question here because it's mainly aimed at Christians. My son is narrowing down his list of colleges, and Reed looks good to both of us. He wants a quirky, intellectual, artsy school. He plans to major in English and theater. He's a Christian. Not a red state conservative. Not uptight, but doesn't smoke or drink, although he has tried alcohol and didn't like it.</p>
<p>Unfortunately I've seen Reed on a list of "least religious student body" colleges several times. Is there no IVF or Cru there? Do Christians find others to connect with there? FTR, his other schools are likely to be Brown (ED), Bennington, Hampshire, Knox, New College of Florida, Oberlin, maybe Occidental, Skidmore. Possibly Vassar, but I think he's a bit reach-heavy as it is. He may apply to Gordon, since his high school is one of their feeder schools, but he disagrees on principle with mandatory chapel.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are Christians at Reed, but being curious, I looked up “student organizations” on their website. Out of 108 groups, I was surprised to see just one listed. Take a look at them, I think that they provide an interesting snapshot of the student body. I think that it is very important, especially with a school like Reed, to not just visit and sit in on a class, but spend a night in the dorms, interacting with students informally.</p>
<p>He could also get involved with a local church/college group.</p>
<p>Thanks @hunt and @pacnwmom. I have looked at their website, as has my son. Pretty much all college websites say they have Christian and other religious groups, so I don’t think that information is very useful. I will check out the Reed article. My guess is it may not be worth wasting “reach energy” on. It’s kind of disappointing to think that a Christian perspective would be missing from be missing from such a well-regarded school, though. The most intellectually rigorous schools I can think of (Stanford, MIT, Brown, Swarthmore) have vibrant Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other faith groups. </p>
<p>I’d recommend he consider Georgetown in the reach category. Vibrant theater scene, excellent English department, non-mandatory chapel and a diverse selection of non-Catholic religious groups and services on campus. </p>
<p>In general, you can rely on Jesuit schools to provide a religiously-informed but not religiously-forced intellectual education.</p>
<p>As for Reed, he could well thrive there but he would certainly be in a fish out of water scenario. </p>
<p>I’d look at Muhlenberg in addition to Skidmore and Occidental to balance out the reach-heaviness.</p>
<p>There are Christians at Reed and they have their own organization, Oh for Christ’s Sake!, which is very active but also laid back and inclusive. There are two Jewish organizations, to my knowledge, but Muslim concerns seem to be subsumed into a larger Asian/Middle Eastern cultural category. I don’t think religious people are unwelcome at Reed, but then again, I’m not one.</p>
<p>I think practicing Christians don’t have the privilege of being the default at Reed, which some of them may find off-putting.</p>
<p>@Ghostt, I don’t think practicing Christians are the default anywhere, unless they are actually in a church building on a Sunday morning, (or perhaps at a Christian school,) so he’s good with that. My main concern for him is that he have some kind of Christian community on campus, even if it’s a tiny minority.</p>
<p>I will have him take a look at Muhlenberg, especially as he dropped Bennington off his list due to its size and extreme isolation. He has a meeting with the New College of Florida rep tonight, so that might be another good match school for him.</p>
<p>Interesting article. However, the students I’ve talked to have not made it look at all like what the article tries to portray. I remember one student, who was ready to transfer out, stated that Reedies would basically mock those who attempted to hang on to any semblance of Christian faith & would purposefully quote blasphemous jokes. I’d be curious as to what kind of Christian this young man is. I mean he said a prayer at the Democratic convention & is an Obama supporter? </p>
<p>Wow, @franko5150, that’s a bit harsh. My son is both a Christian and plans to register as a Democrat when he turns 18. Surely you don’t think God is affiliated with a man-made political party? </p>
<p>People usually manage to find their peers in college, so I’m sure that he will be able to connect with life-minded students. Perhaps he can start a fellowship of moderate students who are Christian, or even an inter-faith group? My liberal Protestant daughter attended a Catholic college and started a religious-minded floor of a dorm with the help of the campus priest; it drew kids from several faiths and almost the full spectrum of Christianity (some conservative Christians who could listening to and doing mission projects with other Christian viewpoints included).</p>
<p>Another option is getting involved with local congregations. The only Christian option at the college I attended was too conservative for my taste. The local Presbyterian congregation offered rides to worship and also had an organized social/study group for college students that was pretty wonderful (my roommate met her husband through the group).</p>
<p>Massmom, I am very interested in this topic. My daughter is very similar to your son, except she is an atheist and wants to apply to schools that are relatively well known for being pretty nonreligious. When we have been looking at various lists, Vassar, Reed and Bard rank highly on sites like Princeton Review for being least religious. My daughter is applying to many of,the same schools your son is, except not Bard, becasue apparently it is just toooo hippy-ish. If your son’s religion is very important to him, and he wants a reach school, I am surprised he isn’t thinking of Boston College, rather than Reed, Vassar or Oberlin.</p>
<p>@Lindagaf, he visited BC and hated it. It was just too preppy and sports oriented for him. He doesn’t actually want a religious school, just one where there is a vibrant Christian fellowship and where all religions are respected. In some colleges, this just isn’t the case. His list, as it now stands, is: Brown, Haverford, Oberlin (a match and tied with Brown in terms of interest), Swarthmore, New College (safety), Gordon (safety), Skidmore, and possibly Wesleyan. He may also decide to do a gap year if he doesn’t like his choices come March.</p>
<p>I went to church in college, not always weekly. Avoided campus Christian groups. All belief systems, religions or not, were respected at the Ivy I attended. </p>
<p>Religion never came up as an independent issue. My brother attended the same Ivy, and he went to church weekly with many of his frat brothers. </p>
<p>When you speak of “vibrant Christian fellowship”, that is going to be quite different at different schools. Really he needs to visit schools to get a feel for organizations that would meet his needs. For example, there were multiple religious-affiliated organizations where I attended college, but some were limited to local outreach like helping the homeless and so on. Others were essentially lifestyles - they had daily dinners, special services for members at their local house of worship and so on. I had friends who were very into their religious group, to the point that it was essentially a fraternity.</p>
<p>If he is looking for something like that, not just a weekly meeting and talk about the Bible and maybe do something every month or two socially, but true “fellowship”, he better look around. Hopefully he will get into Brown ED and you can help him explore those options. RI is known for religious tolerance in general.</p>
<p>@Massmomm, have your son check out Macalester College in St. Paul. It has a lot of similarities with the schools you’re son is interested in and has an IV fellowship:</p>