<p>Reed College is everything I could ever want in a college. I first heard of it from my parents, who'd heard that it was very liberal and open-minded, and thought I would enjoy it, but I resisted a bit, having never heard of it, and still being at a point in which I thought that I should try to get into the most prestigious school possible. Rather stupid of me, yes, but once I read about Reed, it piqued my interest, and when I visited it in August, it became my dream school. It is not the most selective school that I will be applying to, but I would take it over absolutely any other. I more than anything want to expand my mind - to leave college having learned infinitely more than I know now, and to prepare myself to in the future become a psychiatrist.</p>
<p>I'm really passionate about psychology, and I think that while math and science have always been my weak points, I would rather have the added flexibility of having a medical license in order to give my patients exactly what they need - if one person needs therapy, I will try my best to help. If another clearly needs medication rather than someone to talk to, I will write them a prescription. A psychology major I met once told me rather disparagingly that psychiatrists over-medicate people and don't necessarily give them the help that they need, but I would make my clients my priority - not my pocketbook.</p>
<p>Anyway, my visit to Reed went swimmingly, and I'm infatuated with the place. I'm a little worried that I'm so attached to the idea of going there that if I get rejected, I'll be unhappy wherever I end up. And while I know that Reed is a school of passion, learning and ideas rather than numbers and grades, I'm worried that my mediocre class rank and GPA could keep me from getting in. Thus, I reluctantly come to you to see whether I have a good chance of getting accepted, since I'm really worried about getting rejected. Even if I'm well above average in some areas, I've talked myself into this paranoia that hopefully you'll be able to ease, though I'd prefer honesty to a white lie.</p>
<p>Unweighted GPA: 3.7
Weighted GPA: 4.1
Class Rank: 63 out of 395 (luckily I go to a very good school - I know my GPA is low, but I'm worried that it'll tank the rest of my application)</p>
<p>SAT: 2190 (760 Critical Reading, 670 Mathematics, 760 Writing)</p>
<p>I also got fives on both of the SAT Subject Tests I've taken so far - US History and English Language and Composition.</p>
<p>I should be able to get very good letters of recommendation from my current English teacher and former US History teacher, so no worries there.</p>
<p>I think that my interview at Reed went pretty well - I basically talked about what I'm passionate about - music, free thought, politics, psychology and mental disorders, ect. However, when I referred to "The End" by The Doors as "pretentious" (it's a ten-minute ballad loosely based on Freud's Oedipus complex) the admissions officer interviewing me bristled a bit, as she thought I had no right to judge art, and even used the phrase "anti-intellectual," which worries me a lot. She was probably right, though I think that Jim Morrison tried to make his music very highbrow (huge Doors fan, so no disrespect intended). I thought it was a really interesting conversation, and she actually inspired me a lot, but while it went very well for the most part, that one portion of the conversation worries me. I tend to stress out about this kind of thing if I let myself think about it too much, so I'm probably overreacting, but Reed feels like a perfect fit for me. I really want to grow both intellectually and personally during college, and I'm not sure than another college would offer me the same experience, while being situated in an amazing city, in the Pacific Northwest, a beautiful area that's spawned a lot of my favorite music. It really couldn't be a more perfect college in a more perfect place.</p>
<p>I've only heard of two real downsides to Reed - the immense workload (not a problem, for while if accepted I'll probably groan about having so much of it, it'll really prepare me in the long-run), and the drug problem (also not a problem - I don't use drugs, but I'm not going to judge what other people choose to do in their free time, so long as they've made educated decisions).</p>
<p>Oh, I should probably list my extracurriculars too - that's probably important.
-I've been volunteering at the local Democratic Party headquarters (will have totalled 40 hours by the time the election ends and I stop)
-National Honor Society (I've been doing more than the required amount of volunteer hours for that, too)
-National Junior Honor Society
-Academic Olympics (It's sort of like our local area's version of an Academic Decathlon, but only juniors and seniors are allowed. I got in junior year, but unfortunately by the time I can try out for this year, I'll have already submitted college applications.)
-I don't do it for school, so I'm not sure that it counts, but for the past two years I've been teaching myself to play guitar, spending about an hour a day practicing. I'm not a musical genius or anything, but I think I've gotten pretty good. It's a nice hobby. =)
-Eh, I've done stuff like basketball in freshman year, and art club, but I'm getting tired of endlessly listing extracurriculars. The above is what I personally value.</p>
<p>I expect to write a very good common application essay, and an excellent "Why Reed?" one. I'm not applying for early decision, since I'd like to give myself more time to avoid stress, but they're absolutely my number one school, and I have faith that my enthusiasm will shine through. Reed brings so many things to the table - "quirky intellectualism" may be how books describe it, but you truly have to have visited to appreciate it. I see it as a small school (a plus, as I want to get to know my professors, and avoid being alone in a sea of people) that values individualism and free thought like almost no other, and that will more than prepare me for graduate school. The student body sounds fascinating, and I really want to surround myself with people with similar passions to mine, for, while not entirely awful, high school stifles creativity, encourages conformity, and doesn't have many people whom I can connect with on a personal basis. I have faith that Reed will assuage that, if not counter it completely.</p>
<p>So...yeah, I'm pretty sure I haven't left anything major out. Do I stand a good chance of getting in? I hate to throw all these credentials and statistics forward, since it doesn't strike me as the type of school that values prestige, but I'm worried that my low GPA and imperfect interview could hurt my chances of getting in.</p>
<p>Anyway. I'm starting to talk myself into getting all stressed out about this, so...are there any Reed students or people familiar with the school who could give me any kind of idea of where I stand? Thank you.</p>
I’m more interested in science (mainly biology for research) You have some real passion with your work and I hope I can show the same. If I make it in, (in like 2 years :p) I look forward to being a fellow Reedie with ya :D</p>