<p>I didn't do very well in high school. I don't have any valid excuse for my bad grades. If I had a GPA (different system), it would probably be about 3.0, which sucks, I guess. The worse part is the got worse for the last two years, while the first two years were great. There weren't any deaths in the family nor I don't have a life threatening disease (although I did hurt myself pretty badly when I was 9, if that counts?/jest). I just didn't find the work being done at school particularly engaging and got bored because what we did was more concerned with scoring well on exams (A-Levels) and less on actual learning. I just preferred to read up on things I found interesting on my own and did that and some writing. </p>
<p>While I wasn't an outcast, I don't think that my then environment was a good one for me. That's where a college like Reed comes in. I understand that the work done their is rigorous; everyone has the opportunity (or rather: is required to take) to take Humanities 110, which looks like a lot of fun and more importantly, it appears to me that the student body is one in which I could fit in nicely. The prospect of finding people I could freely discuss things with, without them being dismissed as "too intellectual".</p>
<p>I'm currently on a gap year, doing some volunteer work and in the process of doing some work (math/computing related) with a prof at the U. I haven't taken the SATs yet but I am confident I can score well there. I've talked to my teachers and I believe they will write me strong recommendation letters. </p>
<p>With the above in mind, do I still have a shot of getting in (RD) with my poor grades?</p>
<p>I'm not really asking what Reed "looks for", I'll just write my essays in a candid manner and if I'm a good fit, I guess that'll take me as far as essays alone can. ;)</p>
<p>On fulbright.co.uk, is a A-Level/GCSE —> GPA convertor. I’ve so far, only used my “final grades” (i.e, just the official exams and not the marks for every term) and the GPA is actually ~3.4. While that is much better than 3.0, it’s still the grades obtained in the first two years that are keeping me afloat! I’ve also retaken my A-Levels (all in one go - none of this fluffy module per module resits) and I expect those grades to be better than last time, but they definitely won’t be A*s.</p>
<p>You must first convince Reed that you have the academic wherewithal to succeed in Reed’s rigorous environment; that’s done by your courses taken and grades therein, by your test scores, and by your essays. Next, your need for financial aid works against you, since Reed funds only about 25 new international students every year. Since you need aid, your chances go down. :(</p>
<p>Hey, I’m an international student that got accepted this year. I was also worried about this, my GPA is about ~3,57/4 and my SATs scores were loooooow, like so horribly low I won’t post them. But I got in. It was all about my essays in which I explained who I am. I think I liked them enough to accept me. So apply, Reed takes into account grades, but not so much like other schools because they are not worried about rankings or anything.</p>
<p>Somebody close to me did in fact die but I don’t see why I should bring her up at all in the “Why Reed?” essay…:S</p>
<p>Vonlost, trust me, my grades won’t be of much help. Unless…Reed only requires the final certificates. While freshman and sophomore year of high school was just fine, the grades I received for the other two years were all over the place. But then, I improved by the end (haven’t received my grades for that yet but I’m pretty sure I have). A document on their website seems to hint that those who’ve done “certificate exams” (that’s not the exact word used) like the IB or French baccalaureate need only send the actual certificates. If that’s the case, then my grades while still being average, won’t drag me down that much! I should call them to confirm!!</p>
<p>In the event that this isn’t the case, I guess it’ll all boil down to my essays and test scores. If Ghostt and Mateoochoa did it, then I can too. :D</p>
<p>Thanks for posting, Mateoochoa.
Are you attending this fall? I, too, would like to be a physics major. The joint programs with chemistry and mathematics look pretty tasty as well. Have fun with the HUM class! </p>
<p>I’m seriously considering applying to Reed early. Since they do meet the financial need of those they accept, the binding agreement shouldn’t be a problem, right?</p>
<p>When you apply ED and ask for FA, admission is not binding. A school will make you a FA offer; you must take it or leave it. If it’s not enough to enable attendance, you say thanks but no thanks, and apply RD elsewhere.</p>
<p>Thought it was interesting, as well as encouraging. Then perhaps I’m reading (haha) too much into it. From that, I understand that well written essays and good SAT scores (700+ on every section, including the SAT IIs?) would very well be enough for one (read: me, in spite of my low grades!) to be considered for admission. Wishful thinking or does that sound about right?</p>
