Diversity

Colleges and Universities A-Z Reed College
1

<p>Hi guys,</p>

<p>I am really interested in Reed College right now. In fact, so far it's my #3 choice, after University of Chicago and Swarthmore. But unlike the University of Chicago and Swarthmore, there's very low diversity at Reed. Only 8% of students at Reed are Asian, for example, and the fact that Reed is such a small school makes diversity harder to come by. Being an Asian-American from a very diverse high school in Seattle and living in a diverse neighborhood, I am concerned that the lack of diversity at Reed will prevent me from having a good time. </p>

<p>But at the same time I don't want the diversity issue to affect my decision of applying too much. I really love the intellectual atmosphere and the strong academics, especially in the fields I am interested in, like math and biology. If Reed were only more diverse, it would be almost perfect.</p>

<p>I talked to my guidance counselor about it, and she said something along the lines of, "Well, diversity is what these colleges are looking for." That's true, I thought, but I'm not looking forward to low diversity.</p>

<p>Do you have any thoughts that you'd like to share?</p>

<p>Actually, writing this helped me come up with a clear solution: Apply to Reed, see if I get in, and then decide if I want to go, factoring diversity into my decision.</p>

<p>What do you guys think?</p>

<p>Also, does being Asian really increase my chance of getting into Reed?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p><a href="http://web.reed.edu/news_center/press_releases/2006-2007/041107admission.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://web.reed.edu/news_center/press_releases/2006-2007/041107admission.html&lt;/a> says of the most recently admitted class:
[quote]
Of the 1,112 students admitted, 360—or 32.4 percent—self-identify as students of color; 30.1 percent identify themselves as domestic students of color. Both figures are record-highs for the college. “The increased ethnic diversity of the admitted students results from Reed’s ongoing efforts to attract intellectually curious students from all ethnic backgrounds,” said Dean of Admission Paul Marthers.

[/quote]
You mention some top schools you like, so I would think you would apply to all of them and then choose from your successes. Even though ethnic Chinese are not generally considered URMs in college, since Reed says they're trying to increase diversity, it would seem to be an advantage for you.</p>