Son Has Heart Set On Reed

<p>My high school junior S really wants to go to Reed. He has visited and interviewed (which he thought went very well) and will probably apply early decision. He got a 2120 on his SAT (730 CR, 610 M, 780 W) and has gotten an 800 on SAT II World History. This will look good, of course. His problem is that he is one of those kids who studies harder outside of school then inside, except for courses he really likes. His weighted GPA--which is all his school calculates--is 3.46. Unweighted would probably be closer to 3.3. He goes to a top 50-100 ranked public high school in the Washington DC metro area (Fairfax County, VA) and has taken 4 AP courses. He got an A and a 5 in the one he did last year and is taking 3 more this year. He plans to take 3 more next year. He won District honors for playing the saxophone this year, is in concert band and has been in marching band since his freshman year. He is very interested in politics, reads books like "Stop This Depression Now" by Paul Krugman for fun, has read everything written by Hunter S. Thompson, is a serious "serious" movie buff, and is currently interested in going into political science and/or international relations. My question is, given his grades, does he really have a shot at Reed? </p>

<p>Based on the Common Data Set (see page 4), 15% of enrolled freshman had his GPA or lower. Not sure what it means re his entire application. But, clearly he has a shot, if rest of application is strong.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.reed.edu/ir/cds/cds1314/cdssecc201314.pdf”>http://www.reed.edu/ir/cds/cds1314/cdssecc201314.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>He will need a good/great answer to the question: Why Reed? His SAT is in range although it won’t make him stand out from the crowd. The GPA is a bit of a challenge. Why Reed?</p>

<p>I got into Reed with a 3.3 GPA and I’m an aid-seeking international, so it is possible. I had higher test scores, though I don’t know whether that ensured my admission or my essays.</p>

<p>Your son needs to write a Why Reed? essay that explains what attracts him to Reed. I talked about being an unconventional but keen learner who is not motivated by grades in mine, and that must have resonated with the admission office.</p>

<p>That being said, the Common App essay is equally important. He needs to have very good essays, basically.</p>

<p>I think it’ll depend on what this years crop looks like to be honest. They waived their application fee, dropped some of the written requirements and had a 36 percent jump in applications (13 percent higher than their highest year ever.) This year, their acceptance rate dropped though they said the SAT score average has been stable. So, that means that not only have more kids applied but more equally qualified kids have applied. </p>

<p>Something else to consider is they are “need aware” and it’s been in the news the last couple years that they need 50 percent of their students to be full pay. </p>

<p>My D was wait-listed this year. Her stats were higher than your son’s (4.3 weighted GPA, about equivalent ACT score) but then again, her stats were lower than a fellow classmate that got rejected out-right. Thankfully, both were accepted into other top choices and moved on but I think in a previous year, since both are Reedie “types,” they would have had a better shot.</p>

<p>Basically, it’s a free application to a great school. If he loves it and wants to go there, no reason not to try. I really couldn’t tell you what his chances are only that when this years common data set comes out, it may not look much like the common data sets for previous years.</p>

<p>@jmgradon‌ Your son has a chance if he can show not only why Reed is good for him, and he good for Reed, but also some improvement in his grades this semester and next semester. A lot of Reedies have strong intellectual interests that sometimes diverge from “the conventional.” They get bored by the humdrum of the typical high school curriculum. What attracts them to Reed, and Reed to them, may be their strong interests in some subjects, their intellectual curiosity, their independent way of thinking. Reed is not looking for conformists (and does well in finding nonconformists!). But it does want to see students with a capacity for and interest in learning.</p>

<p>I am a Reed graduate from the previous millennium. Reed accepts all kinds of students. But above all it wants those who are willing to commit to their college studies and to the designed curriculum. The best way for your son to demonstrate this now is to improve his performance (i.e., grades) in his last semesters of high school. Being a student at Reed is demanding. Your son needs to demonstrate that he will thrive in that situation.</p>

<p>Just to let those of you who contributed know, my S learned today he got into Reed early decision. Given his relatively low GPA, he knew how important the Why Reed essay was and apparently aced it. He also wrote his college app essay on how much he loved wandering through Powell’s bookstore. Quite frankly, I think he is just the sort of person Reed is looking for and managed to convey that in his application. We did a lot of research and I am convinced it was the best school he could possibly have gotten into, just because they are looking for kids like him. Go Reed! </p>

<p>congratulations!!</p>

<p>Glad to hear they are still considering information besides test scores and grades.
He’ll do great!</p>