I currently attend a community college in Los Angeles and have been admitted to both Reed College and Kenyon College as a transfer student. I am torn because of each school’s unique and outstanding qualities. I am a prospective Psych major who is also very determined to continue studying music (voice/piano performance + composition), and is interested in doing research in psychology.
My current impressions of both schools are as follows (please let me know if these are fallacious):
Reed:
-Better in research
-Weak music program
-Anti-social culture
-Slightly depressing (due to persisting clouds and rain)
-Lower chances of getting employed right out of school
Kenyon:
-Weaker in research
-More colorful/uplifting community
-Stronger music program
-More highly reputed amongst graduate admissions officers
-Rural environment makes networking difficult and also makes some students feel isolated
If you know anything about either schools, please help me out!! I have to make my decision by May 31st. Also, feel free to include additional information I may not have considered.
Have you visited either school? I personally think Reed would be harder to transfer into, partly due to the academic structure of the freshman year that you have missed. And Reed has its own “flavor” – I’d be reluctant to recommend it to anyone who hadn’t visited.
Portland has a unique quirky vibe that is incomprehensible to outsiders. It’s really a question of Midwest vs. Northwest. What do you value? Where would you hope to be employed in 10 years? Geographic location can have a massive impact on the trajectory of your life.
As a transfer, it’ll be easier socially if you go somewhere where you can do what you enjoy as that’ll make it easier to meet people. Based on what you wrote above, that would be Kenyon, where the music program is stronger. The upside of isolated schools is that life happens on campus and in the community - that can be an upside as you fit into your new home.
At either, you will need to make research opportunities happen, but there are probably plenty. It sounds like you prefer Kenyon, and it sounds like a good choice. You will get a great education at either.
I would focus on what’s best for your future; the two school years will be over in a flash.
I don’t know about Kenyon, but at Reed your entire class will be doing original research for the required senior thesis; the Reed culture is research (hence the PhD numbers).
Reed is a grad school prep college, so employment right after Reed is not one of its strong suits.
When I was a student at Kenyon psych program they focused heavily on research. I graduated in 2006 so not sure if much has changed but I would not think that they are weak in research. Also can do research oriented independent study like I did. I also had to write a research paper to graduate. Like a senior thesis, proposing research, but classes forced us to do research as did my independent study (which I recommend). Hope this helps
@intparent I visited Reed recently; the campus was absolutely beautiful and I definitely liked the school, but I was there after the semester had ended, so the campus was kinda dead. Thus, I couldn’t get a sense of the social climate very well.
@vonlost I’m just worried about coming out of Reed with difficulty finding a job and drowning in debt (even though I’m pretty sure I would go to grad school)
@intparent I’ve heard that a lot (that Reed is fun if you fit there), but I’m not exactly sure how to tell if I would. I consider myself sufficiently strange, but there are many different kinds of weird and quirky.
Anti-social culture? Reed has a high level of introverts. It is a comfortable place for those who are not very social, but I would not call it anti social.
I can’t tell you much about Kenyon but Reed has a qualifying exam Jr year. I would speak to someone from the school to see how ready you will be for that exam coming in as a transfer. I would also double check with both to see how well your courses transfer. My son did dual enrollment at a CC in the Los Angeles area and when describing one of his courses to his adviser he received a facepalm and a requirement to repeat the course.
You may also need to take the freshman humanities course even though you are a transfer. I would check.
That being said, I always vote for Reed but it is not for everyone.
Feel free to PM if you have questions. My son is currently at Reed.
I think you’ve got Kenyon about right, @punsforfun, and in many ways the school would be ideal for your interests. That said, you have two excellent choices, and, though different, you could get a great education at either of them.
@punsforfun , I find it hard to believe that there is a meaningful difference in the abilities of graduates of either of these two schools to find a job directly after graduation. I would not use this as a factor in your decision
