<p>So yesterday I was blessed and cursed with a late acceptance letter from Reed College, which became my first choice over the course of my college search. I love the school's philosophy, atmosphere, workload, and location, and they have a very strong reputation for sending graduates in my major to top 10 PhD programs. The problem is I'm already a paid and enrolled student and Cornell, which clearly has its own advantages - name recognition, fantastic research opportunities, being close to home (I live in western NY), and networking. They will cost pretty much the same including travel expenses, but I feel like the cost is more justified for Cornell.</p>
<p>Essentially, my brain says Cornell, but my heart says Reed. What say the forums?</p>
<p>No question, Cornell. Living on the West Coast, many consider Reed a little wacky and/or easy, for people who want to not work all that hard, are more concerned with lifestyle than a career. One of the main reasons it is at all well known now is because Steve Jobs went there for a year.</p>
<p>“many consider Reed a little wacky and/or easy, for people who want to not work all that hard,”</p>
<p>Reed is NOT easy. It is for people who are obsessed with study. Reed is much more like UChicago than endowed Cornell. SUNY Cornell is a step down.</p>
<p>Better visit Reed as its size is a big factor.</p>
<p>It is definitely considered by many as flaky and wacky. Cornell is an Ivy. That still carries a lot of weight. Many people have never heard of Reed (and fewer would were it not for Steve Jobs). I don’t have a kid at an Ivy, never will, but it still carries weight. Reed is really still a “West Coast” school, and many on the West Coast have reservations about it. A lot of latter-day hippie stuff, transplants from California who are still living in the 60’s and 70’s. We have a ton of students at my kids’ school (and numerous schools in the area) investigating most of the privates in Oregon. Oregon is “the” place for California kids to go now. A few years ago it was Colorado that was so popular.</p>
<p>While most might pick Cornell over Reed, you might enjoy experiencing another side of the country. Aside from your brain and your heart, what does your gut tell you?</p>
<p>I would go with Cornell in this case. I’m from the west coast and I’ve never thought of Reed as a particularly challenging or prestigious school. The one thing that comes to mind is its scraps table where you can eat other people’s leftovers. And it’s definitely not on par with Chicago, to whoever said that above–maybe Lewis and Clark or something. </p>
<p>I mean, it’s ultimately your choice. So do what you want to do! (for what it’s worth, I’ve commented on 6 or 7 of these Cornell vs. X threads, and I’ve always suggested that the posters go with their other school because of fit…until now) </p>
<p>“And it’s definitely not on par with Chicago, to whoever said that above–maybe Lewis and Clark or something.”</p>
<p>@Coriander23 Thanks for the info but I’m an alumnus of the University of Chicago. Reed does have a two year Humanities program that is much like like the required humanities, civilization and social science part of the U of C Core.</p>
<p>Reed definitely isn’t anything like Swarthmore or anything around Philly. Not certain where this “easy” business comes from but Reed has divisional requirements like the U of C’s, qualifying exams and a thesis in the major.</p>
<p>“Cornell for prestige.” LOL! Yes, CALS, ILR and Human Ecology are the top SUNY schools.</p>
<p>OK OK stop haha. I don’t think my mildly incendiary comment(s) were any worse than yours. You could’ve easily made your points about Reed, an institution which has graduated a number of Rhodes Scholars, without panning the contract colleges (which believe me, we’ve all heard before!)</p>
<p>Anyway, I hope you’ve made your point and are happy. Let’s just agree to disagree, then! I’ll refrain from asking why you’re on College Confidential if you’ve already graduated–I’m a high school senior and this site has already served its purpose for me. But to each their own. </p>
<p>OP, there are plenty of reasons to attend or NOT to attend Cornell, but its presence of statutory colleges is not one of them. Location and class size are. You’ll have to research both schools thoroughly before making an informed decision. Again, good luck! </p>
<p>Choose Reed. Any one who compares it to Lewis and Clark is sorely misinformed. Anyone who thinks it is easy has also no connection or experience with the school.</p>
<p>Wacky, yes, but not easy. </p>
<p>It has one of the highest placement rates into top grad schools, highest rates of UGs continuing onto PhDs.</p>
<p>One reason why people on the West Coast had mixed reactions to Reed is that it is SO different than every other schools here. Most other schools in this size range are more similar to each other than they are different. Whitman, Lewis and Clark, Willamette…great schools, but VERY different from Reed.</p>
<p>Reed attracts outlier kids…kids who maybe didn’t fit in high school because they were the quirky-super smart ones in their class, or the ones reading Russian literature or college science textbooks in middle school. And that leads some to spread the rumor that it’s flaky. It’s because Reed students are a little weird. And they like it that way. </p>
<p>But, flaky? Nope. The kids who go in thinking it’ll be a breeze and they can slide by in a freshman level seminar class, leave 2/3 of the way through Humanities 100.</p>
<p>@coriander23 @rhg3rd I’m actually in endowed Cornell (CAS) so the statutory colleges aren’t an issue - either way, we in New York consider them a blessing from the public university gods. A huge tuition cut at a school that is much, much better than most of the SUNY system is a great thing. And out-of-staters still attend them on purpose.</p>
<p>After reading these replies and hearing directly from some Reed students, I’m thinking my best course of action here is to stick it out at Cornell for four years and hopefully obtain a higher quality of life. I’m having a bit of a career crisis and considering an internal transfer to CoE, something that’s impossible to pursue at Reed.</p>
<p>If money were no object and I could follow my academic goals to the ends of the earth without feeling guilty I would choose Reed in a heartbeat. The school is perfect for me in personality (I’m on the wacky/flaky/lazy/outlier side and 100% okay with it) and academics. However, I’m a seventeen year old who is about to go into quite a bit of debt, and I need to consider the implications of that.</p>
<p>I know this is probably too late, but I suggest that you consider the implications of selling out this early in life.</p>
<p>Okay, so “selling out” is too strong a phrase. BUT once you start conforming to other people’s expectations, your passion goes into the toilet. </p>
<p>Consider this… You would probably make better grades at Reed because you would be doing what you want. At Cornell you might struggle because your heart is not in it. Just a thought.</p>
<p>I know a guy who left Columbia to attend… you will love this… the University of Montana in Missoula. He considers it the turning point of his life.</p>
<p>Don’t starve your soul. :-w </p>
<p>On the other hand, I question whether either one of these schools is worth heavy debt. If either one has you graduating with more than, say, $30,000 in debt you might be making a major mistake. Definitely a huge mistake if the total is above $50,000. A catastrophic mistake if more than $75,000. Take a gap year, if necessary, and find a more affordable college.</p>