<p>Hey fellow CCers
So, I'm flying out to Portland for an interview this Friday. I'm not nervous, but I'm curious. So, what was yours like? Was it with an alum or an admissions officer? Did you have fun (guessing from my previous experience from Reed, I'm gonna say yes xD)? What kinds of questions did they ask?</p>
<p>Hey, Reed Freshman here, and my interview experience was pretty painless. It’s not formal or anything, and the interviewer I had seemed pretty cool and down to earth. I had an alum that turned into an admissions officer, and I think that’s true for quite a few of the admissions officers here. My interview was pretty fun, even though I was still a little nervous about talking myself. As for questions, it really depends on the interviewer. Mine asked questions like “what kind of fruit or vegetable do you most identify with?” and “If you were stranded on a desert island, what 5 books would you bring?” among other normal and abnormal questions, so be prepared for anything.</p>
<p>And with that, I wish you good luck with your interview. Are you taking a tour or visiting classes too? It seems so weird to have prospies already, I’m not even used to this place yet!</p>
<p>bucketcapacity… just wondering how your beginning days at Reed have been. Did you have an outdoor orientation before school started? How do you like your classes and professors?
My S visited Reed last Spring and fell in love.</p>
<p>Bucket: Gah, those questions always make me seem like a bumbling idiot >< I never know quite what to say…Anyway, I took a tour last spring and loved it. This time I’m trying to finally decide if it’s really going to be my ED choice, so I’m sitting in on some classes, interviewing, then spending the night. As for you, good luck with your college adventure! Maybe we’ll be seeing each other next fall ;P</p>
<p>My interview was with a current student and was pretty straightforward and low key. No tricky questions… </p>
<p>Interviews are basically a way to talk about your interests and personality and what attracts you to Reed, i.e. a way to add a personal, human dimension to your application. No rocket science required, just be your honest self. </p>
<p>Most of the time at the end of the interview, the interviewer will ask if you have any questions for them-- maybe think of a couple before you go in, or write some down during the interview as they occur to you. Then again, it is more of a conversation than an interrogation, so you could probably just ask as they come up. </p>
<p>Hopefully during the tour/lunch/overnight, they will match you up with someone in the major(s) you’re interested in; if not definitely try to find someone who is, to ask about the department, the structure of the major, etc. Also, see if you can get a copy of the 2010 Student Handbook (from a student)- it has a lot of information you won’t find elsewhere.</p>
<p>Portland is awesome; right now the Time Based Arts festival is going on so that’s something you could look into if you wanted to see some of the city. Powell’s books is a must, imo. [Portland</a> Events: Music, Art, Entertainment, Sustainability | PDXPIPELINE.com](<a href=“http://pdxpipeline.com/]Portland”>http://pdxpipeline.com/) lists other things going on around town. Remember to bring rain gear, or at least an umbrella and water resistant shoes.</p>
<p>5boys: My beginning days at Reed have been good. I had a lot of fun during o-week, I got to see all neat clubs and some of the traditions Reed has in store. I think the most memorable experience was the first night, they had a fire spinning show (brought to us by Weapons of Mass Destruction, a student run group). As for outdoor odysseys, I did not go on one, but I know someone who did, and he had a pretty good time with it and met a few people. I like my classes and my professors, they are all very friendly and accessible and very smart, one of them even wrote the textbook we’re using in class. Conferences are just what they sound like, conferences, and lectures sure are lectures. I don’t know, I’m a physics major, so I’m taking a grand total of 3 academic classes, so I don’t have much (or any) perspective on languages or social sciences or basically anything other than hum, math, and physics. Of course, this is a normal load for just about any major, you only do 4-4.5 credits if you’re crazy. But…yeah, that’s pretty much what’s it’s been so far.</p>
<p>Thanks bucketcapacity!!! It sounds amazing… if I told my S about the fire spinning show he would be even MORE in love. He is only a Junior and he is supposed to be researching colleges. It is proving to be hard for him to even think about other colleges because after he saw Reed, he thought that was it for him, he didn’t need to look any further and because Reed is so unique it is difficult to find other colleges that are similar. My S is involved with many things and absolutely LOVES the outdoors, so being able to go outside in nature is pretty important to him. My worry is that at Reed, the workload will be so intense he won’t be able to have time to do other things and he will be miserable. He wants to major in Philosophy or Religion and then go on to med school.</p>
<p>francaisalamatt… if you happen to go back to this forum after you get back from your visit and interview would you mind sharing your experience. My S is going to do the same thing next year.</p>
<p>Ah, everything went quite swimmingly 
I got to sit in on 3 classes, all of which were majorly engaged; students were relaxed yet insightful, which made watching the classes thoroughly enjoyable. My interview went smoothly; it was (again) just a conversation on what I liked, what I do, what I’d do at Reed, some post-college plans. Pretty average stuff.
My dorm host (Finn Terdal) was great; he was really friendly, and introduced me to all of his friends, with whom we hung out for pretty much the rest of the night. Reedies LOVE prospies, so your son will surely receive a very warm welcome!</p>
<p>Thanks Fmatt… I’m glad you had such a great experience. So, are you going to go ED? Did you by chance get to talk to anyone about the workload and how they are handling it? That is my major concern, other than that I know my S will love it.</p>
<p>Yeah I’m DEFINITELY applying ED.
Anyway, the workload is tough, from what I’ve heard. Ask bucketcapacity for how students handle it; I’m not sure of that.</p>
<p>Did any of you guys also do an interview in your home town? I have one scheduled that is coming up. The information that I got says it is pretty informal, but I am still nervous! Do you think it will be like an interview that they would give me if I went to Portland?</p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>I don’t see why not! Have fun with yours 
I sure did</p>
<p>^^ Yup, I had an interview overseas, actually. It was a lot more relaxed than an interview I had for another college - I think Matt’s description of his interview pretty much matches mine. If you have any specific questions, go ahead and PM me :)</p>
<p>I’m applying ED to Reed, and just had my interview today. The interviewer was an alum and an admissions person. She was really nice, it was really relaxed, and we were just at a coffee shop near where I live. She just asked about books I had read, what my experience in high school was like, and some other random intellectual but fun questions. It really isn’t anything to worry about. Mine was a lot of fun!</p>
<p>Yay for ReEDies (Too corny? xD)! Good luck, asdfgjk.</p>