<p>Congratulations, I am glad it worked out for you. A better choice, IMHO, than St. Johns.</p>
<p>yaaaaaaaaaaay!</p>
<p>But, I am now facing a tough decision. Is Reed College or St. John’s College better? Any suggestions? I think I have two weeks to decide to withdraw my applications.</p>
<p>There’s no “better” except what is better for you. I do think of St. John’s as having a bit more emphasis on the Great Books than does Reed.</p>
<p>Reed will give you more freedom to make your own academic choices, I think. Also, Reed’s overall coolness factor is much higher. And wasn’t Reed your first choice?</p>
<p>Did you receive a financial aid package good enough that you can afford to withdraw your other applications?</p>
<p>Yaaaay, congrats! :D</p>
<p>I personally think you should go to Reed. The St. John’s curriculum (there really IS only one learning track…) is so limiting, and you can get the same kind of in-depth discussion on the Great Books at Reed. But, obviously, it depends on stuff like FA.</p>
<p>I got about 42000 dollars worth in grants and 2500 dollars worth in loans. Is this a good financial aid package, because I am still going to have to take out a lot of private loans? Also, do all private loans require co-signers? Because, my mom does not want to co-sign for any loans.</p>
<p>Congratulations jussmall! You got in. All that worrying. 
</p>
<p>Private loans usually depend on A.) Being of legal age, and B.) Credit history, and C.) Purpose of the loan. I was 17 (many years ago) when I was a freshman, so I had to get a co-signer that year. If you’re 18, you shouldn’t need one. Credit history is something only you can answer. </p>
<p>If the total of grants and financial aid loan is not enough, Reed must feel your family is capable of coming up with something out of pocket, enough to make it unncessary to take out a private loan.</p>
<p>Congrats on your admission. Can you visit Reed or St. John’s?
IMO that’s an awesome fin aid package. They are covering the entire amount of tuition (and part of your room and board), and only having you take out the regular amount of subsidized stafford loans. You should figure out how much you are going to have to pay out of pocket and whether your parents will contribute anything towards that, whether you could supplement it with part-time work during the school year and summer, or lastly whether you should take out more loans. Did you get federal work-study?
You probably can take out more ($3500??) in unsubsidized stafford loans before going to private loans. Your parents would have to cosign for private loans unless you have built up good credit in the last few years.
Honestly, I think you could avoid private loans if you look at your other options. Call Reed Fin Aid if you need help figuring it out all the different options available to you.</p>
<p>I looked up Stafford loan amounts. It sounds like Reed is only having you take out $2500 in Stafford loans but you are eligible your first year to take out a total of $5500: $3500 in subsidized Stafford loans and $2000 unsubsidized. (Subsidized means the government pays the interest on it while you are in school, unsubsidized means the loan will start to gain interest almost immediately). You should figure out if you are eligible for Perkins loans as well, which vary in amount but can be as much as $4000.</p>
<p>Perkins and Stafford loans are both government-funded, not private loans, and eligibility depends on your financial need as determined by FAFSA.</p>
<p>(I meant to add this to the last message)</p>
<p>If I were you, I would add up all your costs to attend Reed (at least $52,000 plus cost of books, transport to/from home, personal allowance, etc) and subtract all the aid you are getting ($44,500). The remainder is how much you and your family needs to come up with. Then add up:
-how much your parents can contribute per month for 9 months* ($200?)
-how much you could potentially contribute from part-time work per month for 9 months* ($300 if you work 10 hours/week?)
-how much you/ your parents could contribute from savings, like if you worked over the summer and saved part of your earnings ($1000?)</p>
<p>So potentially you could come up with $5500, maybe more or less depending on your specific situation. </p>
<p>Then subtract how much more you are able to take out with federal loans (another $3000 from Stafford loans, perhaps some from Perkins loans?).
And finally, figure out the remainder you would need to take out in private loans, if anything.</p>
<p>Does this make sense? It’s just a better approach to budget it out and figure out how much you and your family can realistically contribute rather than taking out a ton of private loans up front.</p>
<p>*You can set up an 8, 9, or 10 month payment plan with Reed instead of paying your balance all at once. The school year is roughly 9 months long (end of August- end of May).</p>
<p>I put on my application that I participated in a sport for this year and was in a certain position, not leadership. But, the sport did not start until just recently, and I just quit it, not obtaining the position that I put on my application. I only lasted a few days in it before I figured out it was not for me. So, should I tell my college about this turn of events or not worry about it?</p>
<p>Don’t worry about it. Seriously, no college would care unless you were an athlete on athletic scholarship. </p>
<p>Do think about how you are going to finance your Reed education. You have been given a fortune, literally; your fortune. You wrote that you have two weeks in which to make a decision and to withdraw your other applications if you choose Reed. Use this time. You could have a problem with Reed if you accept without taking the other necessary steps, or if you don’t make a decision within the time frame. My advice: accept and borrow as you need to. You have no guarantee that other colleges will offer you financial aid on this level. Most college students graduate with debt; you would be no exception, but you would go out into the world with a Reed education.</p>
<p>Seriously. They are giving you so much money. If you can qualify for the loans, just do it</p>
<p>extracurricular activity problem</p>
<p>I think it would be good to share this info with Reed; it seems ethical to do so.</p>
<p>I have recently heard that the Reed admissions committee takes this kind of thing seriously. I don’t want to be the voice that tells you not to set it straight with them. Consider telling them, without making a big deal about it, even though is probably troubling you. It looks like you intended and planned for this credential to be real, and wanted the benefit of having it on your application. Admissions committees have seen much worse.</p>
<p>If you are wondering where you’ll be able to get the loans to fill the gap between your aid and your demonstrated need, contact the Financial Aid office and ask them directly. They should be able to show you where and how to apply for the necessary loans. I realize that this and my previous message both advise you to contact Reed, and that this might sound like a frightening course of action. But…if you contact them, then you are part of whatever happens; otherwise, things just happen to you. Endeavor to be courteous, direct, sincere, and businesslike. The extracurricular thing is minor, and the need for loans is absolutely not your fault, and is a normal part of getting a college education, for most students.</p>
<p>And remember that when a school accepts an applicant at ED time with substantial financial aid, they really, really want you, and will be as helpful as possible. :)</p>
<p>Congratulations on your accpetance to Reed . My eldest son is graduating from Reed in May. It has generally been a very good experience for him. He is quite introverted and, his physical appearance notwithstanding, lives a quite conservative lifestyle. He initially seemed to think he was alone, as the more flamboyant in the student body tended to create what he percieved as the Reed norm. As time has passed, my son has realized that maybe he is not the only one on campus who holds some old-fashined values. In MHO, he discovered what most students in cultutally-diverese, upper tier liberal arts schools learn: some students live a wild life, other students talk a wild life, yet MOST students in such colleges are there for the education. The best advice I can give you is to be yourself. Allow people to decide if they like the real you, rather than hoping you can convince them to like someone that you are trying to be.</p>
<p>Everyone at Reed is smart, and most work very diligiently on top of their native intelligence. I have not observed humility about intellectual gifts to be a Reed strong point. To the contrary, intellectualism at Reed can be rather “in your face.” Particulalry if you were typically the smartest person in the room in high school, you’ll need to make a psychological adjustment…the level of intelligence, commitment to learning and strident communication that pervade Reed culture indicate I’ve probably gotten my money’s worth; but they can be rather intimidating, even to a fairly well-deducated parent.</p>