<p>Hi -
I'm hoping to hear some real, honest thoughts from parents of current and past Reed College students. My daughter, a HS Jr., and I recently visited campus - I loved it, and thought it would be great for my effervescent and ecclectic daughter. We even attended HUM Play - a TRUE experience - and I loved it. Am I crazy?
Thank you!</p>
<p>My nephew graduated from Reed about 5 years ago. He says it was the best experience of his life. My sister and her husband were impressed with Reed and felt my nephew got a good education. She would definitely agree it's a good place for an ecclective student. She is now trying to convince my son he should go there in four years.</p>
<p>I only know what I read about in "Blue Like Jazz." It sounds like a very interesting school. I think if she likes it, she should consider attending!</p>
<p>Our daughter is a Reed junior. She and we love the place. She works very hard. The professors are awesome, the staff is accessible. She has multiple internships and fabulous recreation opportunities. She also loves Portland. There are lots of excellent schools in great locations; this is one of them.</p>
<p>My daughter graduated in 2006.
I think it was a good fit for her, although she also could have done well at other schools, it was her first choice.
She also loves Portland and has lived there ever since.
( in case you missed the movies thread- both Into the Wild ( the commencement scene mostly) and Feast of Love ( much of it is easily recognizable) were filmed recently at Reed.</p>
<p>My Reedie is a sophomore and having a similar experience to the one vassron is describing - working very hard, challenged and loving it. From a parent’s point of view - I am impressed with the school – have enjoyed my time on campus and the administration has been very responsive when we needed help with various things. Also impressed with the changes I have seen in my child as a result of the school – somewhat slacker in HS – now really motivated and excited about his studies. For us the money is a big challenge but this change in attitude has been well worth it.</p>
<p>I ran into this article recently. Just something to be aware of - although drug use seems to be a problem on most campuses these days...
DRUGS</a> AT REED- OregonLive.com</p>
<p>While I was aware that Reed is known as "Weed," I did not know about the hard drug usage. </p>
<p>Do most Reedies live on campus?</p>
<p>60% live on campus (96% of freshmen), but that will go up when new dorm space for 120 opens in the fall. There is plenty of affordable housing off but close to campus.</p>
<p>That article is very scary. I guess our kids' generation learned ZERO from our screw ups, and Janis Joplin's, and jimi Hendrix's, and Mama Cass. depressing.</p>
<p>So true, except that:
[quote]
The official findings of the coroner's inquest were that Cass Eliot died from "fatty myocardial degeneration due to obesity" (i.e., a heart attack brought about by fatty degeneration of the heart muscle fiber)</p>
<p>snopes.com:</a> Mama Cass Death Rumors
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The reason I was wondering how many live on campus would be to gauge how a university campaign against drug usage might work. Since 40% live off campus, there would still be drug availability. But if nearly everyone lived on campus, cracking down (no pun intendend!) on drug usage would be easier (if the RAs actually enforced policies...don't know the quality/training/expectations of of RAs at Reed).</p>
<p>I think Reed is sort of like UChicago in that it is the right place for a certain kind of student (not that the two schools are similar). These are schools that would not appeal to a certain type student, but for the right one, it is heaven. The oddest but most brilliant woman in my entire company is a Reed grad.</p>
<p>I didn't see a drug problem at Reed -to the extent that I was alarmed.</p>
<p>Some adults in and out of college do have drug problems- whether they use pot/alcohol routinely, or try stronger drugs without knowing what they are doing or caring.
I do not think a college should have a paternalistic attitude and attempt to control young adult behavior for them.
I feel that taking responsibility away from the students and putting it on the college/RAs/parents, makes the matter worse.</p>
<p>If I were a parent to a child with active addictive behaviors and I was not comfortable with their ability to behave responsibly, I would not put them in a situation where they would be over their head, and that would include a school that assumes adults can act appropriately like Reed. It also would include the military and any other circumstance that may be too much for them to handle.</p>
<p>I think that the RAs at Reed ( at least the ones I knew through my daughter-)are responsible and caring students, but they shouldn't have to be mom and dad.</p>
<p>That's exactly what I'd say too, MOWC. Didn't turn out to be the top pick of my son, though he was very interested in many things about it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I do not think a college should have a paternalistic attitude and attempt to control young adult behavior for them.
I feel that taking responsibility away from the students and putting it on the college/RAs/parents, makes the matter worse.
[/quote]
Then why have any sort of rules at all in the dorms, since all rules attempt to control behavior! And rules are made to enforce laws. Do you really want lawless dorms?</p>
<p>Reed operates by these "rules" which are taken quite seriously:</p>
<p>Reed</a> College | Honor Principle | Home</p>
<p>There are some dorm examples here:</p>
<p>xposted
;)
I do not think a college should have a paternalistic attitude and attempt to control young adult behavior for them.
I feel that taking responsibility away from the students and putting it on the college/RAs/parents, makes the matter worse.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Then why have any sort of rules at all in the dorms, since all rules attempt to control behavior! And rules are made to enforce laws. Do you really want lawless dorms?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not really sure how to address such a hyperbolic statement, but let me expand using my experience.</p>
<p>A student for example in a dorm who was "behaving badly" whether it was taking things from others rooms, having sex in the bathroom or puking in the hall would probably find himself the subject of a dorm meeting or being honor cased.
Reed</a> College | Honor Principle | Honor Council</p>
<p>So there are rules/laws, but as they affect others. If you are a freshman, who decides to have a glass of wine in commons with your dinner, you really aren't affecting anyone else as long as you bus your table/take some to the scroungers. </p>
<p>I have raised my kids using logical consequences.
The consequences are on the student- if they are going to drink and annoy people, logical consequences could be that they miss their classes the next day ( and perhaps fail the assignment- because their classmates won't bail them out), and that others ignore/ostracize them until their behavior changes.</p>
<p>This is more effective than the RAs being made into the police to run room checks and monitor behavior of adults who should be able to manage themselves.</p>
<p>If your kid can't be trusted not to know their own limits, than send them to a school with curfews and police in the halls.
Or start teaching them that their behavior has repercussions, since they didn't apparently learn it in grade school.</p>
<p>S1 narrowed his choices down to Reed and UChicago and finally decided a day before the deadline. He loved the academics at both. What pushed him over the edge to UChicago was he felt there was more diversity of political opinion and respect/tolerance for conservative views at Chicago. Which is interesting since he is very much a liberal.</p>
<p>But your son made a good observation, I could be very strong in my views regarding politics/cooking/religion, but if I only surround myself with those who think like me how can I expand my thinking? ( unless I am not interested in that) Because of Reeds small size, not just their liberalness, it doesn't have the range of opinions that a larger more diverse school would have.</p>
<p>Portland is a liberal, fairly homogeneous city, Chicago more urban, older, more diverse. My D loves Portland and didn't feel comfortable in Chicago ( but we also know many kids who have gone to UChicago and loved it)</p>
<p>( I thought my D would at least look at women's colleges- because ya know... * lesbian*? ;), but she didn't even want to look at a single sex school- which I found interesting- but I guess that is how she kept in touch with other viewpoints )</p>