<p>I'd love to have this "Carolyn"'s opinion. I must admit I can't remember reading any of her posts...</p>
<p>college grades kill transfer possibilities?
gibson99</p>
<p>Ecape, I'm totally confused. I thought you had decided to go to Chicago this year. Have you dropped out? Or did you decide to take this semester off before it began?</p>
<p>hazmat, I guess I don't get your point. That student's situation is quite a bit different from mine, in terms of actual grades, reasons, and schools they are interested in. Please explain to me what you think that post means with regards to my case.</p>
<p>And to answer the question: I essentially dropped out of Chicago. It's not on my transcript, but I can go back at any time if I do not attend classes at another college in between.</p>
<p>Posts by an experienced adult......Carolyn, whom you had not heard of nor read any posts by. My point is to direct you to a sample interraction btw Carolyn and a student looking/considering transfer. Certainly I did not imply nor state that the thread applied to you, was similar to yours, had anything to do w/ you. Again, you stated no knowledge of Carolyn, even tho she has a long and illustrious history of being knowledgeable + helpful on CC. Good Luck to you!</p>
<p>What? Is lonestardad (the only replier to gibson99) Carolyn?</p>
<p>I also feel like I should mention,with regards to one of your previous posts, that while I M S A is very rigorous if you take the best classes (as I did, maybe a mistake) it does not have nearly the college placement of elite private high schools. B/c we're not particularly moneyed, 1/3 of students go to local state schools. Our college advising system is still trying to figure a lot of things out. (my advisor, for instance, told me I had a shot at Swarthmore out of high school with a few Cs and B-s on my transcript). Plus, nobody gave us advice on essays or anything.</p>
<p>Also to address a previous post. (As I think I already told you) I know about the five colleges. They're one reason I chose Smith. However, you can only take 1 class off campus a semester, and Amherst and UMass are 1 hr away on the bus, so it really cuts into your schedule. Smith Scholars sounds more interesting, although I guess I'd have to find faculty I wanted to work with, which is sort of a problem for me in the biology dept...</p>
<p>I think it is important to point out that many of these schools are as academically rigorous as the students want to make them (when we're talking about differences between top schools such as these). Williams, for example, is every bit as much academically rigorous as Swat, UChicago, etc. The difference between Williams and those schools is that the typical Williams student is more involved outside of the classroom, and consequently spends less time doing coursework. Now, that is not to say that the typical Williams student isn't working extremely hard--we're talking a difference of working 5 hours a day with 7 hours a day. If you're more interested in spending the majority of your out-of-class time working on material from class, you'll have just as many opportunities to do so at Williams as you will at Swarthmore. You'll just have fewer classmates joining you. Alternatively, if you're looking for more of a balance between extracurriculars and classwork, you'll find more of your classmates balancing the two at Williams. However, I do want to point out that the typical Swattie is still involved with extracurriculars...just not as many as the typical Eph (Williams student). Just as with classwork it's an hour or two-a-day difference on average, it's the same with extracurriculars, with the EC swing on Williams' side.</p>
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Is Reed really that rigorous? I feel like maybe it's very rigorous for its selectivity level...
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Reed is EXTREMELY rigorous. Their students are well-known for not showering/eating/sleeping during finals week because they spend so much time in the library. The term papers are pretty intense, too.
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<p>Have you heard of the junior year thesis? Now, please realize that Reed is the only college in the country that requires students to write one. Aside from that, as astrid_asteroid pointed out, Reed has probably the highest amount of term papers and written work than any other college in the *world<a href="Portland%20is%20also%20nationally%20known%20for%20it's%20high%20concentration%20of%20people%20who%20put%20down%20%22writer%22%20as%20their%20occupation">/i</a>. </p>
<p>The professors truly interact with their students and there is, basically, nowhere to hide in terms of your knowledge and capability. That's why Reed abolished grades and uses the report system. Did you also know that if you graduate from Reed, your chances of being accepted for graduate study to an ivy league university would be higher than if you were alumni of any other college, including the ivy league? Even Oxford wouldn't be a reach, since the English universities have long understood what Reed does to a student and why it is so special. </p>
<p>Many students, who never seriously anticipated what Reed would be like, freak out and drop out/transfer by sophomore year. For example, Steve Jobs. <a href="http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html%5B/url%5D">http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html</a></p>
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Of the students who say Reed, are any of them not-Reedies? I had a roommate over the summer who was from Reed and she said she hadn't thought Reed was all that rigorous. Although she was quite smart.
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<p>A discussion of the workload of Reed has already been discuseed here <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=101207&highlight=reed%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=101207&highlight=reed</a></p>
<p>Your roommate was probably a) being modest, b) not working as much as a typical Reed student does or c) majored in something easy, such as Economics. Heh, no offense to anyone intended. I'm a Philosophy guy myself, applying ED II to Reed.</p>
<p>Reeeeed!!! I know not a soul who was an alum there or a current student, but just from reading about it in Pope's book Colleges That Change Lives I totally freaked and was awed. My English teacher (and his wife) are both alums of St. John's College. Not as <em>up</em> there as Reed, but in the same context...so I absolutely respect those who self-select Reed/St. John's. Pure intellectuals!</p>
<p>I read Jobs' Commencement speech. Oh, my. That is one of the most eloquent speeches I've ever read. I admit tears sprang to my eyes reading about his near brush with death. </p>
<p>So eloquent...</p>
<p>Well, do you happen to know about their graduate acceptance in particular to Biology programs, and to Public Policy programs? I imagine some departments are stronger than others. PavelB, if you have not yet attended Reed, you really do not know about how rigorous it is, now do you? I was looking for someone who could do more than quote brochure-material... Although, if you do know about Reed and opportunities for collaborative learning, I would be interested... My impression is Swarthmore kids work harder than Reedies, although I don't know about UChicago.</p>
<p>My daughter is a biology senior @ Reed and she has had friends who graduated from UChicago
they seem pretty similar although since UChicago is larger/ in a larger city/has grad students- Chicago is much more diverse than Portland- although Portland has better weather ;)
( dont know anyone at Swarthmore- the students we know that attended Penn schools are back in the Northwest with exception of girl at UPenn- the visiting profs do seem to go back and forth though )
Along with the 110 full time & half Hum class that all freshman are required to take- the junior level qualifying exam and senior thesis are common academic experiences that Reedies share ( along with chalking the blue bridge- Renn Fayre- Doyle Owl sightings...playing capture the flag ....)
Biology is very strong and is one of the largest departments.
If you look at that sort of thing- it has already been mentioned that despite the average GPA at Reed is a heart stopping 2.7, a larger percentage of Reed grads receive their Phds in biology than any other school ( Caltech is 2nd Swarthmore is 3rd Uchicago is 4th)
<a href="http://www.hhmi.org/BeyondBio101/reed.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.hhmi.org/BeyondBio101/reed.htm</a></p>
<p>( It also sounds like Steve Jobs dropped out for financial reasons- Reed is expensive and although they meet 100% of need- that is their definition not yours- )</p>
<p>I know a lot of Bio students receive PhDs... I'm actually more curious I guess about flexibility within the dept. I'm interested in behavioral ecology/ecology and I'm wondering whether students in those areas can land diverse research experiences to get into a lot of different programs for grad school, not just amphibians which seems to be what the prof studies...</p>
<p>While Biology is one of the largest if not the largest dpt @ Reed- it is still small- it is a very small school- my younger D high school is larger ( and has a larger bio dept)
My D is doing what I think would be considered a behavioral ecology thesis
( evolutionary bio right?)</p>
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PavelB, if you have not yet attended Reed, you really do not know about how rigorous it is, now do you? I was looking for someone who could do more than quote brochure-material... Although, if you do know about Reed and opportunities for collaborative learning, I would be interested...
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</p>
<p>I got all my facts and info from Reed alumni that I, by some miracle, found here in Thailand. I'm also acquainted with a PhD in Philosophy that, although not Reed alumni, is originally from Portland and knows many of the Reed professors personally. I totally trust his judgement as far as evaluating the Philosophical department there.</p>
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While Biology is one of the largest if not the largest dpt @ Reed- it is still small- it is a very small school- my younger D high school is larger ( and has a larger bio dept)
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</p>
<p>That's true, Reed is quite a small school. However, there is a reason why it's so small and why that's an attribute of any LAC. I can personally vouch that small schools are very effective learning environments. </p>
<p>The ideal educational standard was first introduced in Ancient India (~1500 BC), which required a guru (teacher) to be not only a master of the arts, but to also be cognoscente of the pupil's inner most needs. So, traditionally, education was meant to be looked at as one-on-one relationships between the teacher and the student. </p>
<p>Today, however, classrooms can range from 30 to 300 students and never striving to reach that ideal, which was practiced so many years ago by great thinkers like Socrates.</p>
<p>Graduating from a very small high school (around 100 people) and receiving a lot of personal attention was beyond anything I could have hoped for in terms of learning. The teachers' main priorities were not only to teach me the basic program that's offered to most students, but to tailor their teaching to my abilities or strengths and weaknesses. Thus, enriching my life, broadening my mental horizons and possibly coming close to that ancient ideal. I believe Reed has the same philosophy and certainly hope that I get the opportunity to experience it myself.</p>
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[quote]
Reeeeed!!! I know not a soul who was an alum there or a current student, but just from reading about it in Pope's book Colleges That Change Lives I totally freaked and was awed. My English teacher (and his wife) are both alums of St. John's College. Not as <em>up</em> there as Reed, but in the same context...so I absolutely respect those who self-select Reed/St. John's. Pure intellectuals!
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<p>Glad you share my enthusiasm. St.Johns is also a very good college with only around 400-500 students. The smallest college, however, is probably Deep Springs with an enrollment of 26.</p>
<p>Do you think Reed professors strive to push students who are already advanced for undergraduates?</p>
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Do you think Reed professors strive to push students who are already advanced for undergraduates?
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<p>Let me put it this way - if you want knowledge, it's there. If you want great professors, they're there too. I think that Reed prof's would understand each student's situation and try to push any student to the limit, without necessarily crossing it (cuz, you know, it's up to you in the end anyway). </p>
<p>Looking through the catalog on Reed's website, you'll notice that you can take advanced courses or skip intro classes with the consent of a professor, so, basically, you are in charge of determing how advanced you are and what classes you want to take.</p>
<p>
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I got all my facts and info from Reed alumni that I, by some miracle, found here in Thailand. I'm also acquainted with a PhD in Philosophy that, although not Reed alumni, is originally from Portland and knows many of the Reed professors personally.
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</p>
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Have you heard of the junior year thesis? Now, please realize that Reed is the only college in the country that requires students to write one. Aside from that, as astrid_asteroid pointed out, Reed has probably the highest amount of term papers and written work than any other college in the world (Portland is also nationally known for it's high concentration of people who put down "writer" as their occupation).
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<p>The problem with getting information from the horse's mouth is that people easily confuse which side of the horse they use. In this case, your sources were obviously from the opposite side of the mouth.</p>
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The problem with getting information from the horse's mouth is that people easily confuse which side of the horse they use. In this case, your sources were obviously from the opposite side of the mouth.
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</p>
<p>Haha, speaking of horse mouths. Just googled this. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0609607693/002-5848618-0359259?v=glance&n=283155&v=glance%5B/url%5D">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0609607693/002-5848618-0359259?v=glance&n=283155&v=glance</a></p>
<p>What you are referring to is a donkey phenomenon, though. It only works on gullible people. I don't think any of the people I've met from Reed were being donkeys, since their evaluations of Reed were rather accurate if one is to rely on e-mailing various profs, admissions staff and current students to solidify the facts. I think the Reed live blog that I browsed through was quite helpful as well. <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/community/reedlj/%5B/url%5D">http://www.livejournal.com/community/reedlj/</a></p>
<p>So, great xiggi, know anything about Reed that I may have misinterpreted?</p>
<p>"So, great xiggi, know anything about Reed?"</p>
<p>All I know is what is available online or has been written about the school. That was enough to know that there is no junior thesis and that Reed does have distribution requirements. </p>
<p>However, posters such as Emeraldkitty have -very nicely- already corrected you. When it comes to Reed, I do pay close attention to what SHE has to say as her daughter is attending the school. From her past remarks, it is easy to see that she presents the facts about Reed with an uncanny and remarkable objectivity.</p>