If you are a person of color please do not drag yourself into this hell hole of a college. I was tricked into coming here because ppl told me it was liberal and that the academics were good.
Let me just tell you, this institution is so racist and really insidiously so in overt ways. They operate on the basis of ‘rigorous’ academia and such but really, there are no resources put in place for students of color here. All the progress the college puts on their brochures has all been brought about by student protestors. Most professors don’t care about students facing micro aggressions. The professors don’t care that students are being threatened with expulsion for making it apparent ways in which reed is racist and complicit in unethical systems. The administrators of color also don’t care at all.
This school will also lie to you and trap you here because of the GPA deflation and not being able to access your grades.
The only good thing here are the brilliant students this place manages to trap and then slowly break. Also some professors are worth it but the ones who stay are the awful ones.
I’ve seen this happen, everyday my friends doubt their self worth here when they shouldn’t ever have to feel that way. The college refuses to support its students.
They won’t even admit they broke federal ADA law despite everything that’s changed in their ADA policy and DSS accommodations paperwork system. Like it’s clear to everyone on campus how awful this school is.
If you haven’t applied yet, don’t, especially if you’re a person of color.
A point of clarification: Reed does not have grade deflation; rather, Reed has a lack of grade inflation. In my experience, if you pick a major you like, it is rather easy to get high grades. Higher grades come about once you rise up the ranks and learn how to “do” Reed. There is no doubt about this, though: Reed is trying to prepare you for graduate school. Lots of things will seem confusing at first, but once you begin to understand what graduate school is like, Reed will give you a clear sense of whether you should go or not.
People can access their grades; it’s a simple email away. Worst case, you pay $5 to get it from the registrar.
Doubting your self-worth is in the nature of academia itself. You’d be surprised by how many faculty members feel the same way.
The students, including POCs and international students, who have sat squarely out of the protests, no doubt, have opinions that they would never dare project publicly. The campus, in my view, is polarized. Not everyone has the energy or even desire to engage with any of it. Most students stay out of it.
To prospective students: the state of affairs on campus is difficult, but honestly it is pretty easy to sit out of it all and get your education and the Reed experience you desire. The faculty has squashed protests against HUM110, and it looks like the administration is trying to do the same now. Not sure how they will handle it, but I seriously doubt they would expel students.
I think prospective students should carefully examine Hum 110 and decide if it is a class they want to take. If not, don’t apply to Reed. The college is not going to change more than incrementally. The protestors (in my admittedly biased opinion as an alumnus and a great fan of the course) are like people who move next to an airport and them complain about the noise. Actually, they might prefer the analogy of moving next to a pig farm and …
From what I know, Reed is intellectually challenging, mind-bending, and rigorous. That the institution “is so racist and really insidiously so in overt ways” is hopefully as untrue as it is intrinsically contradictory. I would encourage prospective applicants of color to speak to current students if they have concerns about resources available and about how Reed nurtures or does not nurture students of color.
Interesting. My sophomore loves it. He is of partial middle eastern decent. He was not a fan of Hum 110 because he is a STEM kid but still did well. We got a copy of his grades for his good drivers discount so we knew, but he felt he could ask his advisor at anytime. He did extremely well. I know there is academic support for all students as my son was selected to be a tutor. Students must be nominated so the tutors are hand selected.
The only problem I see if that he spends so much time studying he won’t call his mother. It is extremely rigorous.
He is not involved in the protests. He is to busy studying.
My freshman is also happy with the school and the community. He has used some of the support services…though Reed is hard, it seems like they want the kids to succeed and try to help them get there.
freshman of color at reed here – I think this post is very misleading, there’s a nuanced conversation to be had though and I don’t have the energy to write up a detailed response here bc it’s finals week lol but if any prospies have questions about what it’s like here, campus politics, Reed Discourse Culture, etc, feel free to email me at tanjarami@reed.edu since I hardly check this website anymore but I would be happy to discuss or clarify.