Is Reed for me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Reed College
1

<p>Hi CC-goers,</p>

<p>I'm starting to look at colleges and I'm wondering if Reed is a good school for me. I am a staunch liberal and a fan of progressive education, I'm interested in studying economics, I'm intellectually inqusitive, not much of a fan of Greek life and sports, a little quirky, and a lover of Portland. I have the grades to get in, but some things I'm concerned about are drugs and cigarette smoking, the econ department (any good?), the quirkiness factor, and the workload. As I stated earlier, I am very intellectual and I enjoy stimulating work, but I do need a few hours of sleep and a social life--not a massive one, but perhaps time for a few clubs and exploring Portland. So, what do you think? Is time management too hard at Reed? Finally, I know people think Reed students are quirky. I don't have peircings, tatttoos, or dyed hair...so what do people mean by "quirky?" </p>

<p>I definitely think I have a shot at getting in and I'll be visiting soon. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>P.S. I'm also considering schools such as Oberlin, Wesleyan, Vassar, Swarthmore, and others</p>

2

<p>You will find all types of quirky at Reed. You really have to visit to get a good idea of it. I’ve seen everyone from the people you described to tree-hugging, all natural, flowy-clothing wearing hippies. I’ve even seen a few bros/jocks around (although they are a fairly rare phenomenon). There are also plenty of “normal” looking people. </p>

<p>From what I hear, the Econ department is plenty strong. </p>

<p>It is totally possible for you to have enough sleep, social life, and good grades and be involved in a few clubs. You just have to manage your time well. Maybe you don’t want to take four classes your first year. Just three.</p>

3

<p>Drugs are definitely prevalent, but completely avoidable. No peer pressure at all, and depending on your social circle, you might not be around them at all. There at plenty of people at Reed who do not do drugs. There are smokers on campus, but not any more than I have seen at any other college campus. Again, completely avoidable.</p>

4

<p>I can’t speak on behalf of a current or former student, but I did spend two days at Reed recently as a prospective transfer candidate. You appear to fit many of the characteristics of the typical Reed student. It was plainly obvious from my visit that Reed has a high level of homogeneity among the student body – very liberal, humanities-oriented, non-athletic, and predominantly Caucasian. The students, in my opinion, tend to be a bit more extroverted relative to other campuses. Part of it is likely the humanities focus; another probably stems from the conference-style format of the classes, where students discuss concepts and ideas in a small setting. However, piercings, tattoos, and dyed hair are relatively uncommon. But there are those that outwardly idealize and model their appearances after certain free-spirited subcultural influences – i.e., Bohemianism, beatniks, indie rock crowd, etc.</p>

<p>Regarding drug use, I was actually randomly offered marijuana in the dormitory I was staying. An above-average percentage do seem to smoke, too, relative to the greater real-world population. And I know there have been a few isolated drug deaths and near-deaths within the past four or five years. Reed, of course, does have drug and alcohol policies, but virtually no college enforces them to any imaginable degree. But with Reed’s slew of leftist/nonconformist types, there tends to be a certain level of permissibility regarding drug use. I have heard admissions representatives use the reasoning that the drug notoriety resonates due to a higher degree of student interest and open dialogue regarding the political and legal implications of drug usage. But I think that’s somewhat biased and disregards the true question of whether drug use is more prevalent at Reed than a standard campus. In general, I think the more eccentric, freethinking spirit of Reed does nurture a more tolerant atmosphere and hence a higher-than-normal level of usage. Binge drinking, however, is pretty uncommon, though the majority students do consume alcohol to some degree. Nonetheless, based on my perceptions, drug usage is not pervasive among the student body and your decision to apply – or perhaps attend – shouldn’t hinge on this factor alone.</p>

<p>As for workload concerns, my dorm host stated that he typically spends between 6-8 hours per day on work out of class as an economics major. That might seem somewhat nauseating for an undergraduate, but you’ll usually be spending a mere 2-3 hours in a classroom daily as opposed to the 6-7 you typically occupy in high school.</p>

<p>One additional thing to consider about Reed is that your grades remain concealed even from your own knowledge. Paper and test evaluations are strictly word-based rather than provided numerically or through letter-grade, even on objective exams (e.g., science or math test). If you ever wish to know your grades, I believe you would need to inquire through the registrar. This is something that I personally don’t like about Reed since I enjoy remaining current with my progress and prefer to be aware if and when I’m getting screwed. </p>

<p>I hope this is of some assistance to you, although this is merely a two-day perspective of things. I would highly encourage you to pay a visit during the school year.</p>

5

<p>Re “predominantly Caucasian” above: For the record, the latest Common Data Set reports 56% white non-Hispanic, 17% unknown.</p>

<p>Re “prefer to be aware if and when I’m getting screwed” above: You are notified if the grade you are currently earning is C- or below. You can indeed ask your professor for your current grade in a class. The culture seems to be not to ask.</p>

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<p>Thanks! Reed definitely seems to be my top choice at the moment. How would you compare it to Oberlin, Swarthmore, Wes, Vassar?–schools with similar aspects.</p>

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<p>The white population is well above the 56%-73% range. It’s at least 80%, even closer to 85% in my estimation. I’ve visited at least two dozen college campuses in my life and Reed is probably the most homogenous I’ve been to yet regarding several factors. I don’t mean this as a slight, but in my opinion, Reed students are so busy being weird that they all seem the same. </p>

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<p>I understand the low-grade notifications. But evaluation and/or transcription errors are relatively common. I experienced them in great abundance at my previous college.</p>

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<p>Sorry, I’ve never visited those campuses. Perhaps others will chime in.</p>

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<p>If you are a liberal, please, please don’t describe yourself as “staunch.” Let’s leave that term for the other side.</p>

10

<p>@mifune,</p>

<p>I don’t know where you got ‘humanities-oriented’ from. There are many majors at Reed; while humanities majors outnumber their science counterparts, you can walk into any classroom on campus and find plenty of science-oriented students. A few of your other points are also slightly incongruous with my observations. But then again, I’ve spent a lot longer than two days here.</p>

11

<p>First impressions are important when considering a school; if you ignore them and then regret the choice, you feel rather silly. Being so very unhappy with your original school makes the second try even harder than the first, so it’s perhaps doubly hard to accept input from others, even if you figure that they should know better from real experience. Believing that a school is not being truthful in its CDS reporting should be reason enough to eliminate it from consideration; not trusting its profs to give accurate evaluations should be another.</p>

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<p>@Mifune, thank you for your input. I think you wrote an honest opinion and it’s too bad others have to get defensive and downright gnarly at you instead of just answering the OP’s question. I think you referred to human error in your concern about grades, nothing about trust issues. And unless Reed is run by robots programmed by aliens we can assume human error occurs. Good luck to you.</p>

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<p>If you’re referring to my post, I merely expressed mild disbelief at some of mifune’s conclusions, which are at odds with my personal experience, and sought a plausible explanation for them–like the brevity of his/her visit.</p>

<p>Anyway. The worry that the registrar will fail to notify you of your failing grade and let you fail without any warning is actually not one worth dwelling on; even if the people in charge of preparing transcripts don’t notice that the system has flagged one of your grades as too low, or forget to put it on your transcript–which is extremely unlikely–your professor will certainly know you’re failing, and it is part of his or her job to let you and your academic adviser know that your grades are too low, and to discuss the matter with you. That usually happens way before quarter/semester transcripts become available.</p>

<p>What you should be worried about is overestimating your academic performance in the absence of harsh critique, and assuming your GPA is, say, in the 3.4-3.6 range when it’s actually 3.0. Some people do that, and reality hits them hard at the end of senior year/when they apply for internships/research positions; others are very good at evaluating their performance accurately, and are never surprised if they request to see their grades. Others still simply don’t care.</p>

<p>If the idea of gauging your improvement in class without the aid of letter grades perturbs you, going to Reed might be very frustrating for you. That’s how self-selection works.</p>

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<p>But internships/research positions must realize how difficult Reed is and cut Reedies some slack for not having a 3.6, right?</p>

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<p>Yes, I understand that Reed offers several majors. I, for instance, am not a prospective humanities- or social sciences-related major candidate. However, I did glean that Reed is more of a humanities-focused school – even by liberal arts standards – and that if one’s academic aptitude is pretty well slanted away from the humanities and social sciences toward the math/science spectrum, Reed probably isn’t the ideal place to attend. According to the College Board’s profile on Reed, humanities and social sciences major outweigh math and science majors by a 75%/22% margin. (I assume the unaccounted 3% is due to interdisciplinary and/or unpopular majors that can’t be neatly categorized.)</p>

<p>One thing that is very unique to Reed is that the college provides its humanities foundation by requiring the taking of a single class by every first-year student with the HUM110 requirement. Having sat in on lecture and in section, I can imagine a requirement like HUM110 being mind-numbingly boring for those with absolutely no interest in the topics covered. Other colleges and universities typically differ in that credit distribution among departments can be fulfilled by selecting among a large range of options that may be more appeasing and accommodating to a non-major’s academic tastes, like a course in the history of science or bioethics for a science major’s humanities requirement(s).</p>

<p>At Reed, I found the types that love the humanities but have a general distaste or lack of interest in the math- and science-related realms to be relatively common. But I did not meet any math/science focused students who did not enjoy balancing their schedules with humanities/social sciences courses. If you feel I did not gain the correct impression or if it’s faulty even in a relatively general context, then please advise. </p>

<p>Also, the conference-style format of courses is attractive and unique to Reed. Granted, other universities have this to some degree, but rarely to such a near-exclusive extent. Nonetheless, it’s not a style that is suitable for everyone. If one is more reserved and feels most comfortable soaking in a PowerPoint or blackboard lecture where the expectation to express one’s thoughts, opinions, and reflections is absent (especially in a student-led format), then Reed may not be the best college option. </p>

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<p>My first priority (and closing statement) in post #4 was to qualify the accuracy of my impressions given that I am speaking from an outsider’s perspective, as I’m not a current student nor have I spent any considerable amount of time at Reed. If you have the time, it would be helpful if you could poke holes in any of my statements that you feel are perhaps off-base or unjustified based on your own experiences. As mentioned, I am a prospective student, and I do find perceptions from current students to be invaluable pieces of information. </p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

16

<p>Many good (and long) comments above. a couple observations…</p>

<p>Reed is very strong in the sciences - it has one of highest % of graduates going on to PhD level work of any school across all disciplines. I was a biology major - in my 2 years working in an immunology lab all 8 of us went on to at least Master’s degrees (not necessarily in biology). I think you would find Reed, Harvey Mudd, Swarthmore rank at the top of the schools that send students on to Masters or PhD programs.</p>

<p>Reed almost prides itself on being quirky. In that sense it is similar to Havey Mudd’s pride in being “nerdy” and the “Swattie” mentality at Swarthmore. I have friends who attended or taught at those schools (plus Williams, Oberlin, Vassar, Whitman, others) and our son is looking at Swarthmore, Mudd, Reed for college in two years. </p>

<p>Reedies learn to think and challenge conventional wisdom in a way that I certainly found stimulating. Other schools do that as well, but perhaps at Reed it is something that you need to have in your make up to be successful at the school.</p>

<p>On grades - your advisor always knows your grades and you typcially meet with them as often as YOU decide you want to. I always wanted to know from mine if I had a grade lower than a B in any course. The metric you set up is up to you. </p>

<p>I have to say that I did take pride in graduating without knowing my GPA or class rank (turns out it was about 3.3). As a point of reference, I was easily admitted to every graduate school I applied to either in science or business. The graduate schools do know Reed.</p>

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<p>Drug use is hardly “permissible” here. Ask any Reedie, things are getting stricter. With the arrival of Gary Granger, CSOs have been giving a ton more AODs, and there were a couple recent arrests (for a felonious amount of marijuana, distribution thereof, and a small amount of molly). </p>

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<p>No it’s pretty prevalent, although how much you can do is obviously contingent on how much free time you have. This is due in part, as you said, to a generally more liberal and open-spirited attitude towards new things. However, drugs are also cheap and available here: if one person doesn’t have something, three other people will.</p>

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<p>My impression was that drug/alcohol use was less than in the high school I had attended.
In any case if you decline or seek other entertainments you won’t be pressured to consume substances against your interest.</p>