<p>One of the main reasons why Reed is such a turn off is it's academic intensity. People say it's difficult to double major because one major is horrendous at all. However, Reed's proximity to the city of Portland and it's beauty really do attract me. I'm having a hard time leaving it off my list, but finding an even harder time keeping it on.</p>
<p>Can anyone give more of an insight to Reed's academics? I'm looking to major in Economics.</p>
<p>If academic intensity is a turnoff for you, then I don’t recommend you come here, because that’s exactly why students come here. </p>
<p>The reason double majoring is so difficult is because you have to write an entire thesis for each major. That’s an extra year’s worth of work packed into the same time, given you’re trying to graduate on time.</p>
<p>However, you can still enjoy proximity to Portland and a beautiful campus if you apply to Lewis and Clark.</p>
<p>I’m a freshman; I’ve found Reed to be extremely manageable. The key is avoiding procrastination. I’m also enjoying a very nice social life. </p>
<p>I’ve also found that you can make Reed very difficult or, well, not. You don’t have to choose to learn Russian, take two hundred level physics course, hum, and biology; there plenty of people, however, who (apparently) want that and thrive off of it. Really, ending up with a ridiculously unmanageable workload is probably your own fault. </p>
<p>I’m learning lots, having lots of fun, and still managing to get seven to eight hours of sleep.</p>
<p>^Freshman year is supposed to be the easiest year, so as to help ease students in. I hope it gets harder as the year goes on, and as we approach sophomore year…</p>
<p>It will definitely get harder and that’s not a result of your class choices. As you advance through Reed, all classes will get harder. You go through Freshman year and are eased in, but then everyone starts expecting more from you (because you survived being a Freshman). Reed definitely builds on itself. I am finding this true of Sophomore year vs. Freshman year and I assume even more will be expected of me next year as a Junior.</p>
<p>Freshman year is easily manageable, but it’s a mistake to think that the subsequent years will be as well, no matter how scrupulously you craft your schedule.</p>
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I agree in the sense that choosing text-oriented classes was my decision, but not that my 200 pages of reading per night is a result of me slacking. Freshmen year is not a fair judge of the workload at Reed, and any assertion otherwise reminds me of a very insightful article:
[A</a> Serious Resonse to a Sober Freshman « The Quest | The Free Press of Reed College](<a href=“http://www.reedquest.org/2010/09/a-serious-resonse-to-a-sober-freshman/]A”>http://www.reedquest.org/2010/09/a-serious-resonse-to-a-sober-freshman/)
I’m not saying you were making such an assertion, but this article is something to keep in mind throughout your first year at Reed. The workload does become more difficult as you get into upper level courses and is sometimes unmanageable by normal means. When you have major requirements that need to be fulfilled in the next three years the heavy workload is not always, nor usually, the student’s fault; it comes with being a Reedie.</p>
<p>That being said, the workload is manageable, even if it means skipping an hour or two of sleep or working at meals every once in a while. You will read more than you have ever read, do more problem sets than you thought were in existence, and spend many late nights trying to catch up on homework, but it is manageable and fulfilling. The lack of academic competition also forces students to compete with themselves, meaning we make a conscious effort to always improve from our last attempt.</p>