Yay! If you can, try to do one of the preorientation Odysseys. They will provide financial aid and I would call to see if you can get it covered completely if it is a hardship. We received 1/2 off. It made a huge difference and really helped my son make friends. It was those he met during his odyssey that his is still friends with today.
Feel free to PM if you have specific Reed questions. My son is finishing up his first year and very very happy.
Congrats. You made a great choice.
@HiToWaMom @TempeMom @1518mom @roethlisburger @missbwith2boys @momcinco @MYOS1634 @LKnomad @OHMomof2 @ReturningFavor @CourtneyThurston @ucbalumnus @thumper1 @vonlost @Iz57c4 @naviance @mommdc @mamaedefamilia
Hi all! I finished my freshman year at Reed a couple weeks ago and finally had time to return to this site.
I want to thank the users above for all of the help you gave me when I was trying to decide what college to attend.
As I promised @MYOS1634 here’s an update:
(Warning: a bit long)
I formed an awesome friend group on my floor who helped me get through a lot (more on that later). I was worried about not making friends since I’m a bit shy, but I was very lucky to meet amazing people who I adore and am so thankful for. We are very close and celebrated birthdays and holidays together which was really fun and great since all of us live very far from home. It’s great to have people who are like family so far from home!
I joined a peer mentor group (PMP) and had the best mentor who stood beside me with every difficulty and helped me get through my first year.
I got an awesome job on campus, and I enjoy the work environment (my coworkers and bosses are amazing!) and the work a lot. I’m looking forward to having more responsibilities and duties next year since training is over! I also applied and got another job working as an academic mentor for freshman next year.
I completed training for volunteering with a hospice center, and I’m waiting to get my TB test and an open volunteer position near the school. Hopefully, I will be able to start hospice volunteering at the start of next year. I’m also considering volunteering at a food pantry ,that I volunteered with a twice a year PMP event, on weekends.
I joined Hum Play which was a great experience and really enjoyed spending the 10 hours of rehearsal (totally underestimated the time commitment, but it was very worth it) with the cast every week.
Classes went okay. I was aware of the political activism of the students, but I didn’t really realize the extent of that until my first Hum 110 lecture got cancelled due to protesters :). The protest around the class did get frustrating at times ,especially the three times class was cancelled, but I do sympathize with the protesters and I’m glad that the staff is changing the curriculum next year.
I’m still thinking about med school, but I’m also exploring other options in biology since I did have difficulties adjusting to the challenge courseload. The tutoring center and office hours were very helpful though, and I made sure to use this resource every week. I did struggle a lot first semester mostly due to roommate issues which I will explain in greater detail below:
I was placed in a divided triple and had problems with both of my roommates. I was able to work out problems with my roommate who shared the room with me with the usual roommate issues solutions, but I struggled with the one that lived in the connecting room.
Communication with the other roommate was difficult as she made every effort to pretend like I don’t exist and making me like an unwelcomed house guest. Almost every day she would have guest (usually about 5 or 6 people or more if my other roommate and the people living across from us decided to join in) over past 1am and blast music and smoke weed in her room. It made sleeping in my room almost impossible ,and I had to sleep over at a friends twice because of it. Trying to talk to her about it would make her upset and would make her act increasingly passive aggressive towards me as if it were punishment for “ruining her good time”.
I met and talked with my HA (called RA at other schools) about getting help with more effectively communicating with her, but despite these meetings, he wasn’t able to really help me. Thus, I emailed my Resident Director (RD) and met with her, but all she could advise me on was to keep trying the strategies I was using and let her know if it doesn’t work.
Unfortunately, the situation did not improve, and I felt increasingly tired and stressed out about my situation and started to feel unsafe around my roommate which caused a significant decrease in focus in my school work and strain on my mental health. After explaining this to my RD, I was able to get a room change at the end of the fall semester.
Despite the horrible situation, I was very thankful to have my peer mentor, my friends, and a staff member help me get through it.
Again thank you so much for helping me make my decision! I had a wonderful year at Reed despite the roommate issues, and I’m really grateful of the advice given by the CC community which helped me get where I am!
Thank you so much for the update! Glad to see you are happy and doing well.
Did you have a favorite course?
What was the biggest shock or the biggest adjustement for you (beside the inconsiderate roommate)?
My favorite course I took this year was a history course about slander/surveillance in Europe. I really enjoyed the readings and the class, and it really helped me better understand the issues pertaining around the internet and modern day political issues.
The biggest shock was the culture. I knew Reed was very liberal and had history of activism on campus, but I didn’t realize the extent of the prevalence of this on campus. The students are very outspoken which caused a lot of division of the student body especially surrounding the issue of HUM 110. There were many protest about HUM 110 and Wells Fargo on campus, and coming from a conservative area, it’s not something I was used to.
It also took a bit to adjust to the drug culture at Reed. It’s a big part of campus culture and even though no one will pressure you into things, it’s hard to find people who are sub free and find place around campus where you don’t encounter weed and cigarette smoke. However, Reed is improving in making sub free students feel comfortable at Reed with the sub free living option, events, and even a sub free Renn Fayre at the ski cabin.
Wonderful end of freshman year report. It sounds like you are well finding your niche at Reed.
Thank you so much for checking in!!