Hey there Prospies! As you all know, early decisions have been sent out so a big congratulations to all of those folks! With that, our batch makes its way to the spotlight.
Decisions should be mailed on April 1st, in accordance to past years. Feel free to discuss anything about the admissions process in general. It’s great to be onboard with you guys and I look forward to sharing this experience with you all! If you’d like to post your stats, as per tradition here on CC, that’s perfectly fine as well, as it does help with future prospies.
The following are some useful links pertaining to Reed in general:
Facebook: Search “Reed Class of 2020 MD” . It’s a bit…erm…“informal”? But it’s a great way to see a bit of Reed and get in touch with current students.
ECs and work experience revolve my experience as an English teacher. Full time employee at a famous English school in Brazil for over four years, since I was 16. Traveled abroad to Russia to teach English. Did a seminar in my school about language and cultural immersion. Environmental activities at a park in SP, and an educational excursion to Amazonas.(Not the forest, the Brazilian state.)
I had an amazing interview with an alumnus in Fort Lauderdale (FL). Frankly I was so lucky to have a first interview that went so well. The interviewer was also a fellow international student with a very interesting story.
I don’t think my scores are anything special in terms of Reed, probably in the lukewarm region of “average”, so hopefully my life experiences do most of the towing hahah
All in all, it’s never wise to get your hopes up, I will be happy with what comes my way as long as I’m in college this year. That’s my biggest focus at the end of the day.
@AGoodFloridian. I think Reed would be lucky to get you. You bring a wealth of life experience that would enrich their community. But I think you are a perfect match for Macalester too. Did you look at that school?
That’s such a nice thing to say, @ISpy42 , I very much so appreciate that. We all have stories in the end, part of the college experience is learning about the stories of others, an aspect I greatly look forward to.
Ahh, one of my biggest regrets was not applying to Macalester, you know? I had spent so much time focusing on my CommonApp essay, and getting financial aid forms figured out. The deadline just passed under my nose. It was one of my choices, but alas… I should’ve really been ontop of it in retrospect.
Are you also applying to Reed or any other college, if I may ask?
@ZainSD Reed is known to be one of the most generous FA providers. Read up about them (pun intended). I would not be concerned about FA. They do focus on kids with very good academic credentials though so you better have good grades, high scores, very thought provoking essays and come across as a fit for Reed.
@ZainSD Wait i just noticed you are an international applicant. I don’t know about Reed’s international FA policy but it is quite rare for internationals to get FA. Only ones I know that are generous to non US citizens/permanent residents are Caltech& MIT and for those you better have 2400 SATs or close and an incredibly engineering focused resume.
Reed is indeed generous with its financial aid, but it’s as the other user said, the competition amongst international students is much more fierce as there are a limited amount of rewards.
50% of Reed students receive financial aid. About 250-300 international students apply there every year, only 25-30 receive financial aid. I can tell you right now that 3 confirmed have already been accepted with F.A. But there are most likely more out there, I’d safely say about 10. The rest will be regular decision applicants.
The truth is, for internationals with substantial need, it’s a privilege that any and all colleges that are willing to support us hahaha. While it’s fun to have “safeties”, matches and reaches… For most us with financial need, all meet-need colleges fall under the same category.
Extremely. Unlikely.
Of course, I’m not trying to be pessimistic, but understanding the odds does help in the process… Before and after. Good luck guys!
(Check out the common data set I linked, there is some useful information there!)
@khanam You’re right, Amherst is also pretty generous for internationals. Just one little thing, permanent residents are considered to be domestic students. There isn’t much distinction between permanent residency and US citizens when it comes to admissions(unless it’s for some ultra specific scholarship requirements.)
I just find it necessary to make aware that when an international student, like me, sees an acceptance rate for a college (like Reed’s 36%, which is relatively “high”) they may be under a false impression that they’ll have a higher chance to be admitted there, when in truth we tend to be in a very specific “bucket”, with the acceptance rate hovering around 1-10% for those with financial need. Remember, these colleges guarantee full need met. If for whatever reason they can’t give you that amount, a rejection is certain.
A stark reality, but it does make every acceptance received that much more appreciable, right?! :))
@AGoodFloridian By non- (US Citizens/Permanent Residents) I meant anyone who is not a US citizen or green card holder i.e. internationals and undocumented immigrants. When colleges declare themselves to be 100% need met, they mean it for US residents.
Internationals are rarely of interest to most colleges unless they are full pay because it is also extremely hard for a US college to justify giving any financial aid to international applicants, unless they are superbly qualified academically or bring something really unique to the college - like a rwandan genocide survivor who went through extreme adversity to get to where he did with still decent academics.
“When colleges declare themselves to be 100% need met, they mean it for US residents.”
But Reed means it for everyone. If you’re international, your need carries a higher likelihood that you would be rejected than if you’re domestic. Reed is not need blind.
The Reed college visit that we went to said that they were need aware for all students domestic and international, but that they only really look at need for lower stats students.
A school’s being need blind is irrelevant (or should be!) to applicants; it affects only your likelihood of admission, not how much you like a school. Meeting full need is what really counts. E.g., NYU is need blind but doesn’t meet full need, creating bitter disappointment for some admittees.
@LKnomad Actually come to think of it, you are right. That is exactly what they said.
@vonlost there was an amazing story on an NYU admissions officer vs a student last year. Yeah NYU is a bit of a USC in that regard. There are numerous stories of USC’s EFC turning out to be 3 times any other college’s.
With some time on my hands, I compiled some bits of info found on those data sets.
2014-2015 Admissions and Financial Aid info
Total # Applicants / Accepted (%)
3959 / 1532 (38.7%)
Average SAT score
25th percentile: 1940
75th percentile: 2200
Fin. Aid
Approximate amount of resources allocated to financial aid + loans/work study/fed. Aid (Average per student)
29.5mil (47,253)
of international student financial aid awards given (average per student)
50 (50,705)
[Take this opportunity to really appreciate the lengths Reed College goes to ensure every admitted student can have an accessible and affordable education! Thanks Reed <3]
We all have stories in the end, part of the college experience is learning about the stories of others, an aspect I greatly look forward to.