<p>We are trying to decide between these two schools in the next few days. We prefer student responses.</p>
<p>This is no comparison. It is like trying to decide between Columbia and Fordham. I was accepted to both schools, and did extensive research on both of them. Reed is miles better. I decided not to go with either school because I had other options that were better for me, but I strongly advise you stay away from Hampshire.</p>
<p>Reed. Not close.</p>
<p>Reed has an incredible track record of rigorous academics and one of the highest PhD production rates of any college or university in the country. Quirky? Yes. But, it's solid as the Rock of Gilbralter academically. One of the top academic schools in the country.</p>
<p>Hampshire was an experiment 40 years ago and I'm not sure it's ever completely moved beyond the experimental stage. It's tough without a sizeable endowment.</p>
<p>I can't agree. I have good friends at both schools. While Reed may be known for more rigorous academics, it also has a MUCH bigger heavy drug issue. There are consistently people tripping on the common lawns, and sometimes even in class. Not to mention a hardly ever talked about heroin problem. At Hampshire the academics (which can be very strong depending on the professor, and the motivation of the student) can also be supplemented by Amherst, arguably stronger than Reed.</p>
<p>PS. Hampshire also has a very high PhD production rate.</p>
<p>Yes. Hampshire does pretty well in PhD production, too. Here are the top 100:</p>
<p>
Number of PhDs per 1000 graduates
Academic field: ALL</p>
<p>PhDs and Doctoral Degrees:
ten years (1994 to 2003) from NSF database</p>
<p>Number of Undergraduates:
ten years (1989 to 1998) from IPEDS database</p>
<p>Percentage of graduates receiving a doctorate degree.</p>
<p>Note: Does not include colleges with less than 1000 graduates over the ten year period. Includes all NSF doctoral degrees inc. PhD, Divinity, etc., but not M.D. or Law. </p>
<p>1 35.8% California Institute of Technology<br>
2 24.7% Harvey Mudd College
3 21.1% Swarthmore College<br>
4 ** 19.9% Reed College **
5 18.3% Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
6 16.8% Carleton College<br>
7 15.8% Bryn Mawr College<br>
8 15.7% Oberlin College
9 15.3% University of Chicago<br>
10 14.5% Yale University
11 14.3% Princeton University<br>
12 14.3% Harvard University<br>
13 14.1% Grinnell College<br>
14 13.8% Haverford College<br>
15 13.8% Pomona College<br>
16 13.1% Rice University
17 12.7% Williams College<br>
18 12.4% Amherst College
19 11.4% Stanford University
20 11.3% Kalamazoo College<br>
21 11.0% Wesleyan University
22 10.6% St John's College (both campus)
23 10.6% Brown University<br>
24 10.4% Wellesley College<br>
25 10.0% Earlham College
26 9.6% Beloit College<br>
27 9.5% Lawrence University
28 9.3% Macalester College<br>
29 9.0% Cornell University, All Campuses<br>
30 9.0% Bowdoin College
31 8.9% Mount Holyoke College<br>
32 8.9% Smith College<br>
33 8.8% Vassar College<br>
34 8.7% Case Western Reserve University
35 8.7% Johns Hopkins University<br>
36 8.7% St Olaf College
37 8.7% Hendrix College
38 ** 8.6% Hampshire College **
39 8.5% Trinity University<br>
40 8.5% Knox College<br>
41 8.5% Duke University
42 8.4% Occidental College<br>
43 8.3% University of Rochester
44 8.3% College of Wooster<br>
45 8.3% Barnard College
46 8.2% Bennington College<br>
47 8.1% Columbia University in the City of New York
48 8.0% Whitman College
49 7.9% University of California-Berkeley<br>
50 7.9% College of William and Mary
51 7.8% Carnegie Mellon University<br>
52 7.8% New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology<br>
53 7.7% Brandeis University
54 7.6% Dartmouth College<br>
55 7.5% Wabash College<br>
56 7.5% Bates College<br>
57 7.5% Davidson College<br>
58 7.2% Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute<br>
59 7.2% Franklin and Marshall College<br>
60 7.1% Fisk University
61 7.1% Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL)<br>
62 6.8% University of California-San Francisco<br>
63 6.8% Allegheny College<br>
64 6.6% Furman University<br>
65 6.5% University of Pennsylvania<br>
66 6.5% Washington University<br>
67 6.5% Bard College<br>
68 6.4% Northwestern Univ<br>
69 6.4% Rhodes College<br>
70 6.3% Agnes Scott College
71 6.3% Spelman College
72 6.2% Antioch University, All Campuses<br>
73 6.2% Kenyon College<br>
74 6.2% University of Dallas<br>
75 6.1% Ripon College<br>
76 6.1% Colorado College<br>
77 6.1% Bethel College (North Newton, KS)<br>
78 6.0% Hamilton College<br>
79 6.0% Goshen College<br>
80 6.0% Middlebury College<br>
81 6.0% Erskine College
82 5.9% University of the South
83 5.8% University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
84 5.8% Drew University
85 5.8% Wake Forest University<br>
86 5.8% Tougaloo College<br>
87 5.8% Goucher College
88 5.7% Chatham College
89 5.7% Cooper Union<br>
90 5.7% Alfred University, Main Campus<br>
91 5.7% Tufts University<br>
92 5.6% University of California-Santa Cruz
93 5.6% Colgate University<br>
94 5.5% Colby College<br>
95 5.4% Bucknell University
96 5.4% Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
97 5.4% Concordia Teachers College<br>
98 5.4% University of Virginia, Main Campus
99 5.3% Sarah Lawrence College<br>
100 5.3% Southwestern University
</p>
<p>go to reed! Its the better choice</p>
<p>Reed attracts much stonger students and works them.
PhD rate is largely a measure of the types of students attracted- bound for academia rather than the equally fine professions of MD, lawyer of businessperson. Harvard graduates are strong in all.
The PhD rates are for GRADUATES. Which brings up the consideration that both Reed and Hampshire have very low school completion rates vis a vis their peers.</p>
<p>Bound for academia or science.</p>
<p>Darn, I wrote a fairly lengthy response but CC logged me out before I got a chance to hit reply.</p>
<p>Anyway, here's my take. There's no question that Reed is academically superior-in terms of academics alone, I think it's the best LAC in the country. But I can't say much without knowing more about what your son/daughter is looking for in a college. </p>
<p>Academically, Hampshire is a mixed bag. Fluffy courses with trendy names on post-modernism, women's/ethnic/identity studies abound; the militantly PC student body and faculty can make class discussions and the campus intellectual environment stifling; and there's not much in the way of academic support. True, we have a quantitative and writing center, but I never found them helpful. Basically, if you don't already have a strong background in say, math or writing, you'll have to go to the other colleges nearby to fill those gaps.</p>
<p>The only advantage Hampshire has over Reed that I can think of is the 5-college consortium. This was the primary reason why I chose the school.</p>
<p>Has to be Reed.</p>
<p>The past few weeks my daughter has agonized over these 2 schools, as well as a couple of others. She just this week chose Reed. We visited Hampshire a couple of weeks ago as she was going through the decision process. I have to say our day there was the most pleasant of any of our visits, everyone was so nice and friendly. She really, really liked it, and it just exuded a very, very positive vibe for us. But at the end of the day she said "Why would I go here if I could go to Reed? I would definatley go here if I didn't get in to Reed". Smart girl I think.</p>
<p>Addendum to last post - I (as parent) had 2 positives about Hampshire that I voiced to my D, 1) college consortium, lots of opportunity to take classes at other fine schools, and 2) money - Hampshire offered her nice merit aid. Reed is need-based only. Don't know if finances play into your decisions. We challenged her to present to us why Reed was worth the extra money, and she convinced us. Also, have you visited both campuses?</p>
<p>Hello,
I just came across this thread while browsing, and wanted to inquire on how your daughter has liked Reed?
I am a high school senior with the same issue. I am trying to choose between Hampshire and Reed, and have fallen in love with both of them (I have visited each school twice).
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>I disagree; Hampshire 100%. Being a Hampshire student in the consortium is unlike being any other student, anywhere in the United States. As we haven’t (nonsense) credit-requirements, we’re permitted to take any level course out of a catalog of 5,000 courses. You can do a semester at Amherst, followed by a semester of UMass grad courses, followed by a semester at Smith. You design the education, you’re responsible for your concentration; you’re only beholden to a committee. Anyone who’s endeavored a PhD understands this format. I’m currently conducting field research across the country, concerning juvenile incarceration industry in (otherwise) post-industrial cities; my Div III will finish at 600 - or so - pages.</p>
<p>The culture’s also whatever you make of it. Once you’re in mods (apartments) the social scene changes dramatically. You can still party, but things become more intimate in smaller social circles (it’s all who you live with). I enjoy it, anyway. I don’t run-into people at parties, I genuinely know a few beautiful people (from all over the globe), and they know me; we cook for each other xD</p>
<p>One of my good friends goes to hampshire, it is very unstructured and doesn’t use grades. Reed is more serious academically, very very serious. Plus portland is a great location.</p>