deferral

Colleges and Universities A-Z Reed College
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<p>Hey Jussmall. I didn’t know what I wanted from a college when I first started and I when I first was introduced to Reed, I did not like the idea of going there at all. (Just because it was in Oregon and I have never been interested in going there. I wanted to be either on the East Coast or in Washington.) But after fully researching, I realized that it was my dream school. There are some schools that I also was going to apply to (even though they might have things you don’t like or are against): Seattle University, University of Puget Sound, Clark University, Skidmore College, Whitman College, Brandeis University [beep beep - heavily religiously affiliated!], Vassar College. </p>

<p>These are the sites I used. I looked at each schoool thoroughly and got a lot of my information from student reviews. I found that those are the most helpful because usually the kids who write reviews either hate or love their school. You get to see two completely opposite ends of the spectrum, which is really helpful. (I’m going to do the same thing with asterisks at Plainsman)</p>

<ul>
<li>P<em>R</em>I<em>N</em>C<em>E</em>T<em>O</em>N<em>R</em>E<em>V</em>I<em>E</em>W<em>.</em>C<em>O</em>M</li>
<li>U<em>N</em>I<em>G</em>O<em>.</em>C<em>O</em>M</li>
<li>C<em>O</em>L<em>L</em>E<em>G</em>E<em>B</em>O<em>A</em>R<em>D</em>.<em>C</em>OM</li>
<li>C<em>O</em>L<em>L</em>E<em>G</em>E<em>P</em>R<em>O</em>W<em>L</em>E<em>R</em>.<em>C</em>OM</li>
</ul>

<h2>- S<em>T</em>U<em>D</em>E<em>N</em>T<em>S</em>R<em>E</em>V<em>I</em>E<em>W</em>.<em>C</em>O*M</h2>

<p>I would also open a tab and go to the college/university’s website. I would check out the facts page and the student life page.</p>

<p>These are other schools that were recommended to me by a counselor who knows me very well. Most of them were almost perfect, but personal preferences got in the way (also, a some of them are religiously affiliated and have other things you might not like, but it seems that you and I have similar interests when it comes to preferences. I also don’t like Greek life and was completely uninterested in having sports as a highlight of the campus):</p>

<ul>
<li>Wesleyan U. (religious)</li>
<li>Lewis & Clark College (LOVED but didn’t quite make the cut)</li>
<li>Ithica College</li>
<li>Sarah Lawrence College</li>
<li>Pomona College</li>
<li>Connecticut College (I really liked everything except that it was in a Navy town. My high school is in a military town and I’m not a fan. Depends on your personal preference though.)</li>
<li>Amherst College (just didn’t click)</li>
<li>Carnegie Mellon University (I was inlove with this school, but Reed and Vassar were two reach schools, and this reach school just didn’t make it up there with them)</li>
<li>Oberlin College (I really liked this school but it was just too isolated in an area that I would feel completely out of place in. Whitman is also isolated, but I’d feel comfortable in Washington)</li>
<li>Hamilton College</li>
<li>Macalester College (campus just wasn’t for me, but I was in love with the school otherwise)</li>
<li>Hampshire College </li>
<li>Bard College (loved this school - looking back, I’m not sure why this didn’t make it as a finalist)</li>
</ul>

<p>So that’s it. I hope this is at least a little helpful. =] All of these schools had amazing aspects to them, so I definitely encourage you to look into some of them. If you still decide that Reed’s your to choice, I really hope that you get in ED!! It sounds like you’ve got a great record. But Reed really isn’t about scores, so the future looks bright!! =]</p>

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<p>The Wesleyan back east is about as secular (non-religious) as you can get.</p>

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<p>Okay, fine. But Divison III is as far as I will go in selecting colleges. Anything above that will be too competitive and ruin my experience. Now, the problem is that I am content with the six colleges I have chosen because they are unique. As for not being as prestiegous as Reed College, I feel that I wil still learn much at those colleges. But since you presist, I have felt some connection with Oberlin College and Bard College. Some of the colleges you recommend, like Williams College and Vasser College, I cannot apply to because I have not taken any SAT subject tests and cannot take them in time to met the deadline. Besides, I probably would not have done well on the subject tests. Finally, I really need to decide on colleges, because the deadlines are approaching fast. So, if you have any last pieces of advice to helpme please tell me ASAP. FYI, my current college choices other than Reed are hammpshire College (most unique other than Reed, and I already applied to it), Bennington College ( I like it because of the freedom the curriculum gives people), Sarah Lawrence College (has a huge female student population:) and good curriculum), Marlboro College (very small college which I like and lots of freedom in curriculum), and Antioch College (language requirment, work study requirment, and free tuition are very good).</p>

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<p>One last thing, I do not like colleges with preppy, white people being the majority (sorry if I offend you). But I have had enough of that with my school’s stuck-up valedictorian and top 10 class rank students. Also, I hate colleges with little diversity, like St. John’s College. About 99% of its students are white from my knowledge, and I really do not like its curriculum (no freedom!). The reason why is that I hate it when people called me whitewashed even though I do try to make friends with other African Americans. But, most of them are really on the wrong track with drugs and stuff and the 2 (I can count the number of smart blacks, including me, in my school using one hand) others are the stuck-up top 10 students.</p>

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<p>jussmall, i didn’t and don’t recommend Williams. It is preppy and jock-saturated (my opinion), which I personally consider unattractive characteristics in an LAC. I was only using Williams as an example of how athletics can actually contribute to a school’s non-athletic students and goals. </p>

<p>That said, I think you have a fine list of schools. I don’t know what you wrote in your Reed essay or common app essay, but if you came across as intolerant of athletics and/or Greek life, that could be viewed negatively even at schools without athletics and Greek life. Coming across as intolerant of a diversity of pursuits and interests is never a good thing. If you did come across that way in your college app essays, could that perhaps be the reason you were deferred by Reed instead of admitted? There is no way you’ll ever really know but it is something to think about. I hope you are admitted to your first choice during the RD period. But be careful how you come across on your apps and essays, should you decide to apply to Oberlin, Bates, Grinnell and other schools over the next couple of weeks.</p>

<p>All of the schools mentioned by everyone on this thread are “majority white.” That’s something you will have to accept or look to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities as alternatives (by the way, I’m not white either). “Preppie white people in the majority” would not apply to Oberlin. They seem to be as rare on campus as Republicans. I think it’s a lot like Reed in that respect. :)</p>

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<p>Forgive me if I am coming off as intorerent. But, I just do not want my undergrad experience to be ruined by greek life or a stuck-up student body. I just want to be sure I am getting this college search thing right. Also, I do know I am going to have to encounter a these things in medical school when I pursue a M.D.-PH.D. But in grad school, I will not have as much interaction with greek life or other students-at least I think anyway- so it will not that bad. Finally, I do not think in any of my eassys I come off as intolerent. But, thanks for that piece of advice. I did not think about that.</p>

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<p>^I tried to edit my preivous post, but I could not. So, ignore it and here is the revised version.</p>

<p>Forgive me if I am coming off as intolerant. But, I just do not want my undergrad experience to be ruined by Greek life or a stuck-up student body. That is, I want to be around students who want to learn for the sake of learning, not primarily for to get rich and go through the motions. In addition, frivolous competition for high grades or be number one in sports just does not appeal to me. Finally, I know most of the people that go to college are white, but I want at least some diversity in terms of race and personality, not mostly jocks and preppy students like in Williams. So, I want to go to colleges like Oberlin and Reed. In the end, I just want to be sure I am getting this college search thing right. Moreover, I do know I am going to have to encounter a these things in medical school when I pursue a M.D.-PH.D. But in grad school, I will not have as much interaction with Greek life or other students-at least I think anyway- so it will not that bad. Finally, I do think I may have come off as being intolerant in my essay for Marlboro College so thanks for the advice.</p>

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<p>After careful consideration, I have expanded my college list to include these colleges. Please tell me if they are good fits for me and please chance me on getting into these colleges.</p>

<p>Bard College
Goucher College
Oberlin College
Kalamazoo College</p>

<p>Searching for colleges exasperates me.</p>

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<p>I think your list is good, and you will be accepted at most if not all of your schools if they are aware of your URM status. All of these LACs are looking to improve diversity. If you are male, that is an advantage, too.</p>

<p>Your opinion that competitive athletics detract from a college’s intellectual experience is interesting. I’ve wondered the same thing. People on this thread are arguing that this belief is false, however. I don’t have enough data to come to a conclusion.</p>

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<p>^Finally, someone understands what I am talking about! Now, how do you think about Harvey Mudd College. I am afraid that it has too narrow of a curriculum. I want a broad education. But, the school resonates with me like Reed College does. Also, I think the very good chance of me getting a low GPA will negatively impact my chances of getting into a M.D-PH.D program. My sources say that a 3.75 is the GPA looked for in getting into the program.</p>

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<p>For someone interested in schools like Reed or Oberlin, Goucher and Kalamazoo seem like odd choices. </p>

<p>Neither school has the reputation of being any where near as academic as Oberlin or Reed, nor as rigorous. Bard would be a far more obvious fit.</p>

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<p>First of all, I did not think Oberlin is as academic as Reed is. I chose Oberlin because it is unique like Reed. Also, I got Goucher College and Kalamazoo College off of the Colleges that Change Lives Website. I guess they are my back up colleges.</p>

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<p>You do realize that some of these schools do not have outstanding financial aid stats? </p>

<p>Hampshire, Bennington & Marlboro do not! I am not sure about Sarah Lawrence or Bard. </p>

<p>You might want to change your requirements for your college selections.
Sometimes these schools with alternative curriculums = small endowment = little FA.</p>

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<p>I am posting this respones here to also answer to your posts. Although some of the information might mbe regarding other posts.</p>

<p>Thank you all for your suggestions. But, I am still thinking about applying to Bennington College and Sarah Lawrence College before Jan. 1, Antioch College before Jan. 15, Marlboro College before Feb. 1, and I have already applied to Hampshire College. On the comment about public education, I REALLY do not want to apply to a public college, even for grad school, because I have read and heard from many sources, including the president himself on a TV show, that the private education in America beats the public education in just about every area, except MAYBE cost, but I will address that. I suspect the millionaires donating to the colleges might be the cause of the aforementioned problem. Regarding the low cost of public colleges, it is just a sticker price as I have learned from many websites and books. The financial aid that private colleges give is much more generous than publics. In fact, on the FAFSAcaster, it said I had an EFC of 2000 and would have a demonstrated need almost equaling the full cost of tuition. Thus, I will only apply to colleges that meet 100% percent of my demonstrated need, which are mostly private, and not have to worry about finding money for tuition. In hindsight, I think my huge demonstrated need caused me to get deferred from Reed College, but what they did was their decision.</p>

<p>Moving on, most of you said that I must compromise and cannot find a college with all of the traits I desire. However, my six colleges meet all of the traits I want in a college. Also, I came up with the traits just to lower the amount of colleges on my list to 10 or below. </p>

<p>Finally, I do not know why most of you find fault with me wanting to go to a college without a NCAA division. I do not want the competitiveness to negatively affect me or any of the other students. Without the competitive sports, students can focus on academics and express their knowledge better than if they were in a competitive sport and cannot muster the energy to use their mind in class, like I have seen in high school. Also, students not in competitive sports must be more willing to interact with others and share their knowledge if they are not tried or frustrated if they lose in their competitive sport.</p>

<p>Overall, I hope this post answers all the questions you have about me and will help you inform me if you have any complaints about what I said or are worried that I am making a horrible mistake and should change my mind. Thank you for your responses.</p>

<p>P.S. This is the longest post I have written yet. :)</p>

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<p>If you went to a large NCAA university (I did), probably the only way sports would influence you is if you went to a game. Chances are you wouldn’t have a varisty athlete in your classes or on your dorm floor, and if you did, it would take a varsity tog to know. I think you’re inventing an issue that doesn’t realistically exist. :)</p>

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<p>But the colleges I am applying to are small. So I probably will encounter a varsity athlete if I go to a college with a NCAA division. Finally, students, especially tailgaters, can act ignorant in a large NCAA college and affect me because the show Campus PD clearly shows that. :)</p>

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<p>Ah, okay, never mind…</p>

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<p>

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<p>You do know that most of those aid packages include large student loans, right? It’s not all free money. Also, many of those colleges use a stricter financial formula than the FAFSA.</p>

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<p>For a school to legitimately meet full need the loans must be small, e.g., Stafford at around $5k per year.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Of the schools on this list, Oberlin will be the most difficult to get into. It’s going to be like Reed in selectivity. But I know they want more diversity. Again, it will depend a lot on your essay. By the way, what state do you live in? Are you on the west coast? Midwest near Ohio?</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Not quite correct. In terms of admission selectivity, there is no daylight between Oberlin and Reed. If by “academic” you mean pressure after admittance, you could be correct, but the gap, if any, is small in the humanities and non-existent in the sciences. What’s great about both colleges is they have cultures that allow you to be yourself, but to excel you’re going to have to study your butt off.</p>

<p>The main differences between Oberlin and Reed are location (Reed has the advantage here, IMHO), size (Oberlin is somewhat larger), and Oberlin has as part of the college a full-fledged, world-class, Top 5 music conservatory, which includes a Jazz conservatory. It’s not a music department; it’s a conservatory. So music can be a huge part of the Oberlin experience for everyone, even though more than 75% of the student body are students in the College of Arts and Sciences compared to less than 25% in the Conservatory.</p>