deferral

Colleges and Universities A-Z Reed College
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<p>Both, actually. It’s good that FAFSA has concluded that you shouldn’t have to pay. Many people are shocked by FAFSA’s tendency to overestimate the amount they should be able to contribute. The downside is that those colleges which are not need-blind might give your application a lower ranking than it could otherwise have. But for need-blind admissions committees, your FAFSA estimate won’t make a difference. If they admit you, they give you the financial aid package you need. (Some of it might be loans or work study, though.) Overall, the FAFSA info seems fortunate. It sounds like you will definitely be going somewhere. </p>

<p>A word of advice: based on this “go to college free” credential you now have, consider adding a few safety schools which you could definitely get into, based on your stats, and which have need-blind admissions. Having choices is always a good thing. Reed is not need-blind, by the way, but “need-sensitive”; and in the past it has made offers of admission based on ability to pay. This is not to say that they wouldn’t meet your financial need if they accepted you; rather, that Reed is a less probable option than a need-blind school.</p>

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<p>Do you think St. John’s College would be a good safety college? Since I do not care about diversity anymore, I said why not? Moreover, which campus do you recommend NM or MD? Personally, I am going for MD since it is the older campus and is closer to home. Also, I feel that this college is as intellectual as Reed College is and will help me open my mind to other peoples’ point of views. After reading peoples’ comments, I do agree with you all that I can be narrow-minded and need to do something about it.</p>

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<p>Well, St. John’s College is a great school–it was on my list for awhile–but there are drawbacks: you have to follow one curriculum, and you’re going to be extremely isolated. The campus forms a sort of bubble, and I’ve read that it’s a shock to St. John’s grads to enter the real world. But, as you said, it’s very intellectual and obviously focuses heavily on discussion and thinking.</p>

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<p>How strong is this school in the hard sciences?</p>

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<p>pretty strong in the core- biology, chemistry,physics.</p>

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<p>I think of St. John’s for Great Books, not hard science, though they do have a three-year lab sciences requirement. Santa Fe may be isolated, but Annapolis? ;)</p>

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<p>I didn’t necessarily mean in a physical sense, I meant in a philosophical and intellectual sense.</p>

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<p><<do you=“” think=“” st.=“” john’s=“” college=“” would=“” be=“” a=“” good=“” safety=“” college?=“” since=“” i=“” do=“” not=“” care=“” about=“” diversity=“” anymore,=“” said=“” why=“” not?=“” moreover,=“” which=“” campus=“” recommend=“” nm=“” or=“” md?=“” personally,=“” am=“” going=“” for=“” md=“” it=“” is=“” the=“” older=“” and=“” closer=“” to=“” home.=“” also,=“” feel=“” that=“” this=“” as=“” intellectual=“” reed=“” will=“” help=“” me=“” open=“” my=“” mind=“” other=“” peoples’=“” point=“” of=“” views.=“” after=“” reading=“” comments,=“” agree=“” with=“” all=“” can=“” narrow-minded=“” need=“” something=“” it.=“”>></do></p>

<p>Reed and St. John’s (Annapolis campus) are vastly different schools, in some ways. Reed is home to quirky (as well as some socially awkward, some drug-involved), bright to very bright kids who, presumably, don’t care about the school’s profound grade deflation but care about learning.</p>

<p>St. John’s, too, attracts iconoclastic thinkers and produces both poets and engineers; it is not, despite misconceptions, a school that is exclusively strong in the humanities. I know two former grads, one of whom went on to do graduate work in math and now teaches math at a UC campus while the other did graduate work at Hopkins in math and moved on to additional graduate study in engineering. The drug scene does not loom large. Its reading load is staggering, and I have heard, redundantly, that one must be a self-starter to some extent. They are both challenging schools; I don’t think of St. John’s as a “safety,” given the quality and quantity of the workload. As an add’l incentive, St. John’s has an Annual Croquet match that matters to its students every bit as much as the Rose Bowl does to the Pac 10, and the college’s setting is breath-taking.</p>

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<p>St. John’s College has a very high acceptance rate, which might lead you to believe it is a safety for you, BUT its applicant pool is probably among the most self-selective ones in the country. It’s not as easy to get in as you think it is; if you don’t have that special something that makes people want to study the Western canon for 4 years and reinvent math, you’ll probably be rejected.</p>

<p>Also, ask yourself if it is the right place for you. I’m applying to St. John’s right now, and love the idea of it, but I can’t honestly tell you if I’d be able to survive its curriculum–and I’ve thought about this a lot! So, do some more research and try to figure out what your reasons for applying there are. If you only want to apply because it’s “quirky” and “a safety,” you may be disappointed by the outcome of your application.</p>

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<p>I am ambivalent in my feelings toward St. John’s College. On one side, I love books, and it is not unusual for me to plow through 500+ pages in a day. Also, some of the books in St. John’s curriculum I have wanted to read for a very long time, like Dante’s Inferno. I can also discuss my readings of the books with other people, which I find hard to do in my current environment. On the flipside, I am not sure about the curriculum preparing me for life after St. John’s College. It makes me wonder if I have to catch up with others in graduate and medical school. In addition, I wonder how studying books can be better than going in-depth with one subject. Finally, I read this long critical review of St. John’s curriculum and it has been the biggest I have ever seen: at least 19 pages! How can someone write that long of a review if something was not wrong with the curriculum? Here is the link. [A</a> Critical Appraisal of the St. John’s College Curriculum](<a href=“http://www.ditext.com/hook/hook.html]A”>A Critical Appraisal of the St. John's College Curriculum)
Overall, I am interested in St. John’s College enough to give it a try and application.</p>

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<p>I just hope you realized that the review is from the 1940’s; things probably aren’t the same.</p>

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<p>Um, that review was published in the 40s. And much longer texts have been written on subjects that might seem even more inconsequential. The length of a text is not related to its content.</p>

<p>Also, graduates of St. John’s are usually very well prepared for postgraduate studies due to the nature of the Great Books curriculum, which emphasizes the importance of the scientific method and guides you through the most important scientific discoveries in history instead of just teaching them to you. You may have to take a couple of additional classes before med school, but a diploma from St. John’s would not disadvantage you in any way. In fact, I remember reading a famous surgeon’s answer to the question “Did you have any trouble adjusting to med school after graduating from St. John’s?”–it was something along the lines of “Yes, I had no one to talk to.” He went to Columbia for med school.</p>

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<p>St. John’s acceptance rate, nonwithstanding, the school employs one of the most rigorous curriculums, nationally, and the very bright (precocious, really) and intellectual students I have known who have gone, there, both in this and historical generations, have spoken of being almost breathless plowing through all of the requirements. That said, they loved (!) their school and felt comprehensively educated. I am not aware of anyone’s having to supplement their St. John’s education so as to be able to take the MCAT; in fact, we’ve a family friend who is an MD/Phd, who attended St. Johns, thirty years ago, who went directly to an MD/Phd program, post-graduation.</p>

<p>But, the school is not for the intellectually faint-of-heart or for the person looking for a default school in the face of a Reed rejection.</p>

<p>And while the school is based on the Great Books curriculum, there are a host of (required) math and science classes.</p>

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<p>Since you all praise St. John’s College’s curriculum, it must be good. I like books, and I feel that I will enjoy the college. So, I am applying, not on the basis of if I get rejected from Reed, but because I love the college.</p>

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<p>Jussmall,
I’m a senior at St. John’s and, like you, had my sights set on Reed at the end of high school. In fact, most of my friends at SJC also seriously considered Reed. Although there certainly are marked differences between the two schools, I would still say that Reed and Chicago are about as close to St. John’s as a conventional (I use the term liberally) school can come. Culturally, all three schools are very similar—and this alternative, intellectual culture can be found at any number of liberal arts colleges—and pedagogically, St. John’s, Reed, and Chicago really are all kith and kin. All three schools continue to employ and defend a curriculum which emphasizes the importance of fundamental issues and texts (this commitment finds its expression in Reed’s Hum 110, Chicago’s core, and SJC’s entire curriculum). This approach is certainly out of vogue and schools like Hampshire have entirely eschewed the crazy notion that some things might be more important to learn than others. </p>

<p>Reed was once described as representing the idiosyncratic marriage of a progressive student body with a conservative curriculum (obviously not in the contemporary political sense). St. John’s is the same way. It’s a totally difficult and weird place, but it really has, as goofy as it sounds, changed my life. I would only suggest that you make sure that you’re okay with the core curriculum model and its theoretical underpinnings. Also, I’ve spent time on both campuses and would be happy to answer any questions if need be. Good luck!
-dd</p>

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<p>I just found out on my application that I went over the word limit for explaining my extracurriculars. Should I tell Reed College about this mistake like my Reed College essay?</p>

<p>@Derek Duplessie I have heard of the intellectual community at the U of C. But, I really do not want to go to a research university; I have heard too many horror stories. However, that does not mean the U of C is not a great college; it is just not for me. I think the deadline for a application to the college has passed too. Moreover, the more I look at St. John’s College, the more I like it. In fact, I might consider going to St. John’s College even if I get accepted into Reed College. Although my attraction to Reed is somewhat stronger. Also, I am wonder should I even apply to any other colleges, because of my love for St. John’s College and its high acceptance rate. The only thing is that some of you say that I might still not get accepted, but I am really passionate about St. John’s, just like Reed. I have imbued my five page essay for St. John’s College with my passion about the college and think it is fine. I have had one person proofread, and they say it is fine. So, should I only apply to St. John’s college and save money?</p>

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<p>Apply to as many colleges as you possibly can!!! Having choices is important. What if St. John’s doesn’t meet your financial needs? What then? You still don’t have a safety school. It is absolutely necessary that you have several of these. Every applicant to college has to have safety schools. As a general rule, applicants should apply to between six and nine schools. If you can’t afford the fee, call the admissions offices and ask to waive it. Your FAFSA credential will give you credibility here. But APPLY!! Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. You might not end up at your first choice school. This happens to many people. But in August or September, you need to be packing up and heading off to college. </p>

<p>About your Extracurricular Activities essay: Don’t go to an admissions committee to tell them about problems you’re having with standard tasks unless there is some truly extraordinary circumstance, totally out of your control. It is always better to fix a problem than to publicise it. Would it be possible to redo this essay and resubmit it? </p>

<p>If the word count is too high, as I remember, the CommonApp program won’t accept it in the first place. Am I missing something here? If you redo this essay, you could eliminate articles (a, an, and the) and list your activities, rather than discussing them in complete sentences. For example:</p>

<p>Science: activity, award, project/years </p>

<p>Athletics: sport, team, award/years</p>

<p>The arts: talents, pursuits, performances, shows/years</p>

<p>And structure the content with bullet points or the like. If spaces are counted as word units, play with spacing. Constructing a resume is a similar exercise, you will discover when you head out into the world.</p>

<p>I hope the person who read your essay is not the same one who failed to catch the errors in your Reed essay. Good luck with this process, which is difficult and stressful for almost everyone–and good for you for asking for advice when you need it.</p>

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<p>Some safety schools: Moravian, Bucknell, Franklin & Marshall, Muhlenberg, Providence College, St. Mary’s College of Maryland (public, but has a mission to serve first-generation college students), St. Lawrence University, Calvin College (Christian). </p>

<p>I don’t know what the deadlines are for completed application to these schools. But if you are going to apply to any more schools, you need to do it very soon, sending test scores and letters of recommendation ASAP. If you can’t afford to send your test scores, call the admissions offices and tell them. Go as far as you can, and then ask for assistance. Make personal contact with the admissions committees.</p>

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<p>^
I don’t know St. Mary’s of Maryland or Providence, but I would not put Moravian in the same category as Bucknell and Franklin & Marshall. It’s not in the same category as Muhlenberg either. Moravian is not on the same level as the other Pennsylvania LACs. It’s lower. Getting into Moravian is “cake” compared to the other schools.</p>

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