Skidmore vs Reed

Colleges and Universities A-Z Reed College
1

<p>Okay so I’m really stuck between Skidmore and Reed. I’ve been accepted to both but I’m unsure of where to go so I thought I’d ask the lovely people of college confidential! If you have any thoughts or opinions please please share. </p>

<p>I’m mainly interested in political science but I’m not totally decided on an official major</p>

<p>Reed: So I absolutely love Reed’s location. I also love Reed’s academic environment and the intensity of it. However, I’m worried about the workload and whether I’ll have any time to do anything else but study. While I am good with time management, the workload sounds really overwhelming. Also the huge amount of requirements at Reed doesn’t really appeal to me and I’m worried that it’ll make study abroad hard.</p>

<p>Skidmore: From what I’ve heard (and seen through visiting) is that Skidmore doesn’t have the academic intensity that Reed does however the fact that students study less and therefore have more time to socialize sounds great. My main worry with Skidmore is that the academics just aren’t that of Reed’s. Not to say that they’re not fantastic, but Reed really has an academia focus that I worry Skidmore lacks. </p>

<p>Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>I think you have identified the issues. Political science won’t be a problem for study abroad; second sophomore semester works well at Reed.</p>

3

<p>If you’re not prepared to work hard, you’re highly unlikely to succeed at Reed.</p>

<p>That being said, I don’t understand why people keep saying it’s hard to study abroad as a Reed student. It is not. Yes, you need to plan ahead and maybe take more classes than some other people as a freshman, but as long as you do that, you will be able to do whatever you want. I say this from personal experience; I will be spending all of junior year studying abroad.</p>

4

<p>blue, your application proves you can handle the Reed workload; your hair will fit right in. :wink: You must decide if you want the benefits of the Reed workload, or the benefits of the Skidmore campus culuture.</p>

5

<p>Reed has a really strong political science department. Intro to International Politics is one of the most popular classes at Reed, for students inside and outside the Poly Sci dept. I have a few friends who are majoring in it and they really like the dept and the professors. One friend who graduated in 2011 worked at the UN for a year and now is doing non-profit work in Uganda. </p>

<p>If you have good time management skills, were already accepted to Reed, and are ‘in love’ with Reed’s academic environment, then I’m sure you can handle the workload. I just wrote an extensive post in the thread “Workload at Reed?” that may alleviate your concerns. </p>

<p>You may have to prioritize and plan a little to make things like study abroad a reality (like making sure you take science and intro poly sci freshman year), but it’s certainly possible. Sophomore spring semester and fall junior semester are popular times to do study abroad, though I’ve known students who were gone their entire sophomore or junior years. If you decide to come to Reed, get in contact with Paul DeYoung, the international programs director, right away-- I’ve only heard good things about him. [Reed</a> College | International Programs | About Paul](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/ipo/paul.html]Reed”>http://www.reed.edu/ipo/paul.html)</p>

<p>Reed does have more core/major requirements than most schools, but you get a decent amount of flexibility in choosing what to take. Most of the classes I took to fill requirements were things/fields I was interested in (except science, ugh). But I fulfilled my other core reqs with classes in Theatre, History, French, English lit, etc that I truly enjoyed (though admittedly, I am a big proponent of the breadth of liberal arts education).</p>

<p>Idk I guess if academics is the priority for you, go to Reed. If more free time/socialization is a bigger priority, go to Skidmore. Of course less time studying equals more time to do other things… but I don’t think going to Reed means you can’t have a social life or do study abroad-- you can and other students do. Time management is key.</p>

<p>Obviously, you can get both academics and social time at both schools, in varying degrees. I know a bunch of Skidmore grads and they would agree that while it isn’t as academically intense as Reed, it was still a great education. One guys I know basically wanted to make theatre 24/7 and studying didn’t get in the way of that too much, which probably would have been more difficult to accomplish at Reed. Skidmore is a little more ‘creative’ school than Reed (i.e. the art, theatre, music departments seriously kick ass there), and most of the Skidmore grads I know majored in those fields.</p>

6

<p>So according to a Skidmore friend, if you want to be more self-directed or if you have particular extracurriculars you prioritize as equally important to your official studies, go to Skidmore. They have a motto or something like ‘learning beyond the classroom’ and seem to want students to do as much outside as inside the classroom. And their academics are probably a little better than you might think, but it sounds like you get out of it what you put into it. </p>

<p>Reed is probably more focused on learning inside the classroom, or through structured programs and opportunities (i.e. research collaborations with professors), and though they encourage student initiative, it’s not like you can design your own major. But you can definitely have more of a social life and extracurricular presence than you might think. Also if you want to go to grad school, Reed is really great preparation for that.</p>

7

<p>Thank you so much for the answers. I think I’m just freaking out a little at the prospect of going to a school so academically intense but knowing myself, I’d study just as much regardless of where I went to school.
Do you find most of the work you do for classes is reading, other assigned work, or studying? In other words, what’s the most common form of out of class work.
Also, how many hours of work a week is typically spent on 1 class?</p>

8

<p>Reading. Reading. Short written assignment. Reading. Reading. Big paper. Reading. Big other project. Reading. Reading. Response. Reading. Problem set. Reading. Conference prep. Reading. More Reading.</p>

<p>It’s kinda like that.</p>

<p>I think the only ‘studying’ (read: cramming) I did was for tests, and the only tests I took were in science and language. Reed isn’t real big on regurgitation. Other than science, language or ‘applied’ art classes, most midterms and finals are papers, so ‘studying’ is more like reading/researching and writing. Sometimes they’re group or other projects instead, but even those will often have a written component.</p>

<p>It’s hard to say “Oh you spend 2.41 hours outside of class studying for every 1 hour you spend in class” because the amount of time spent in class can vary so much. Most courses meet either 1 hour 3x/week or 1.5 hours 2x/week. Classes with a lecture usually have lecture 1 hour 3x/week and conference 1.5 hours 2x/week. Science courses are that plus 4 hour labs (btw science classes KILL your schedule so get them out of the way early). Art classes meet 3 hours 2x/week. Etc. So it can vary from 3-9 hours/week per class, and you take 3-4 classes each semester. Plus Chem/Physics is more math/problem set heavy, while Hum/Lit/History/PolySci is more reading and writing heavy, which will dictate different amounts of work outside of class.</p>

<p>I’d say I probably averaged 4-6 hours per night on homework, 5 days a week, and that included readings, short written assignments, art stuff, and problem sets when I was taking a science course. Big papers/projects, midterms, and finals required more time on top of that, so then I usually worked 7 days a week. But as I mentioned on the other thread, I set rules for myself (no all-nighters, no work on Friday nights), which I’d recommend in order to retain some balance in your life and make room for other stuff, whether that’s more sleep, time with friends, or an extracurricular you are passionate about. I’m someone who needs 7-8 hours of sleep per night to function properly, other students I know function on 4-5 hours so they are able to squeeze more in. </p>

<p>I think in recent surveys, students said they averaged 3.8- 4.8 hours of work per night, though I’m not sure if that’s limited to school nights or every night.</p>

<p>I think your first and last semesters at Reed are the most difficult-- getting into the swing of things and learning how to manage the workload as a freshman, and then completing your thesis as a senior. I remember during my first semester I would ask people, “Do you really do ALL of the reading EVERY night?” because I came from an environment where that was a) expected b) possible and c) necessary to be a great student. But at Reed, sometimes it’s not humanly possible to read every single word of every single assignment, so it’s important to learn how to prioritize your assignments, how to study efficiently, how to skim, how to find and absorb the important stuff. The DoJo tries to help students learn those things early on, and they also offer free drop-in peer tutoring every school night. If you do end up coming here and feel overwhelmed, just remember that a) You can do it! You are smart and capable! It wasn’t a fluke that you got in! and b) There are people and resources available to help you succeed, so don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it. </p>

<p>If Reed’s academic environment/intensity sounds 20% scary, 30% daunting, and 50% secretly thrilling, you’ll be in good company. :slight_smile: I was worried when I first started, but I lived to tell the tale and it was totally worth it.</p>

9

<p>I’ve heard it called Read College. ;)</p>