Hi everyone! I was wondering if anyone could give me any input on whether or not I should apply to Reed College? I’ve heard mainly negative things about the school (i.e. it has a big drug culture, low retention rate, grade deflation, & just a “depressing” atmosphere). These few things worry me, especially the grade deflation as I want to go to law school. However, I do want to apply to the college because of its location in Portland & I do like their International Policy Major. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Reed in most ways represents the qualities associated with a top-level college education (as one indicator, see first link below).
With respect to potential drawbacks and uncertainties, Reed’s curriculum is fairly narrow (e.g., no geosciences department or creative writing concentration) for students who might want to explore widely, and its admission yield is notably low, with 15% of last year’s accepted applicants deciding to attend. Also, Reed’s apparent mission might seem quixotic to students who do not desire a career in academia, in that its professors appear especially to foster students who aspire to become, somewhat recursively, professors.
Further in its favor, however, Reed offers superb programs in core academic disciplines such as mathematics, biology, English literature, economics and international studies.
Regarding retention, Reed’s first-to-second year rate (88%) falls along a continuum in which it is difficult to draw sharp distinctions. While Reed’s rate lands somewhat lower than those of the NESCACs and Claremonts, for example, it places higher than those of some LACs in its region, such as UPS (85%) and Lewis & Clark (83%) (see second link).
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We visited when my dd was a sophomore.
Just note that the campus is in a (well-heeled) suburb of Portland, and not in Portland proper.
One data point only but my daughter removed Reed from her list after visiting. She loved the academics and had a great conversation with a professor who taught in the neuroscience major, but we saw a lot of the students hanging out alone, or in twos at most. It did feel kind of “grey” – not just the weather, but moods and even clothes (my daughter loves fashion, as well as her studies, what can I say 
).
It could really suit some students but it’s quite a singular place.
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Reed Grad here and long-time Portland area resident.
Reed is most certainly within Portland proper. It is in the Eastmoreland neighborhood which is residential, but well within the city limits. The Orange Line light rail stop is within walking distance. Anyone can google map it.
Generally speaking, Reed is a pretty intense place academically, with a very traditional liberal arts curriculum. They recently added a Computer Science major, probably so they stop losing Steve Jobs types to Stanford (really happened). But no business school, engineering school, or any of that. Those seeking a very intense and top quality academic experience will likely thrive. It is a perfect environment for which to prepare for a career in academia, grad school, and beyond. That is what they are really good at.
What it isn’t is a typical mainstream college with sports, sororities, fraternities, and that sort of thing. It is very much just about the academics. And if you are an ordinary kid who wants to go to a high status school but also have sort of a well-rounded life it might not be the right place. Because you will be doing an intense Harvard, Stanford, Yale, MIT type academic experience, but without the same brand name degree. It has huge cachet in academia and grad schools. But not necessarily so much in say the business world.
It is also a very intensely liberal place where a lot of students experiment with pushing the limits of political expression and theory. Past the point of dysfunction at times. I was a pretty bright liberal kid but found I was very centrist if not right of center on the Reed spectrum. It is also a very affluent place. I think about half the students are full pay which means their parents are basically just signing the annual $75,000 checks. I was from a very middle class family (dad was a teacher and mom was a nurse) and I found out quickly I had a very different life experience compared to many of my ultra wealthy Bay Area and NYC area classmates.
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In terms of being in the midst of the “portland vibe”, it might as well be a world away. It took us (I think) about 20 minutes by car to get to a downtown area. And when we asked students how often they went downtown via the rail, they all agreed they hardly ever got off campus. But I’m sure that’s akin to many other campuses that abut, but are not directly in, the urban center.
It’s both a highly liberal and appears to be a highly academic place (both things my dd was looking for.) But even within that description, it’s very singular.
I’d also suggest looking at Reed’s common data set for the last couple of years. Lots of interesting information to be gleaned there.
Well sure, it isn’t downtown. I’m not sure what the “Portland vibe” is, but Reed is pretty much in the center of it. The Woodstock neighborhood is a few blocks up the hill Getting Around the Woodstock Neighborhood in SE Portland — Urban Nest Realty and full of pubs, cafes, Thai restaurants, Whole Foods, and such. On the other side of the golf course is the Sellwood-Moreland Neighborhood with more of the same. Sellwood-Moreland | The Official Guide to Portland Lots of eclectic restaurants and businesses and places to explore. Just to the north an easy bike ride away is the Division Street neighborhood which has some of Portland’s most vibrant restaurant scene. Division/Clinton | The Official Guide to Portland Portland has lots of suburbs (Beaverton, Clackamas, Tigard, Tualatin, Vancouver, etc) and they are all completely different car-centric sprawls of freeways, big box stores, chain restaurants, and subdivisions with HOAs that are identical from any Southern California or Texas suburb.
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yeah, whole foods and good thai food floats my boat too, but it doesn’t quicken the spirit of my teenage daughter.
I think what interested her in Portland was the live music scene, hanging out at Powell’s bookstore, the Portland Art museum, mingling with a larger cohort of students from Portland State University… that kind of thing. Ironically, the ED school to which she was admitted is a LAC in a suburb anyway, a train ride away from a major urban center.
I kind of doubt that you talked with typical Reed students if they told you they never leave campus. They are pretty out and about around Portland, at least during my day. I lived off campus in central SE Portland my last 2 years and one of my roommates was a PSU student. Most upper classmen live off campus in Portland neighborhoods. We used to spend lots of bored Friday nights at Powell’s until it closed. The #19 bus used to take you straight there. There were lots of ex-Reed students working there back then.
There are lots of good reasons not to go to Reed. But that it is too far away from the Portland “scene” is not one of them.
My daughter applied to Occidental but not Reed. Go figure. I think Reed was too close to home for her.
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@Camasite I grew up in Portland and agree with you 100%. My entire extended family still lives in Portland. Reed is definitely well within the Portland scene. 20 minutes to get downtown…possibly, but I live in L.A. now and 20 minutes in a car is no big whooop!
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have you looked to see if reed has any statistics on law school placement located somewhere on their website? that would give you the best indication of how well reed grads do beyond undergrad.
if you are dead set on attending law school after undergrad, one thing that must be noted is that law schools love, love, love two things: LSAT score and GPA. as you more than likely already know, reed is a rather challenging academic powerhouse, and that could inversely affect your GPA. this little facts sheet i found online (https://www.reed.edu/registrar/pdfs/grades-at-reed.pdf) reports that the average GPA for all undergraduate students for the 2018-2019 academic year was a 3.18, and the average GPA of the 2018-2019 graduating class was a 3.21. in other words, it’s not for the faint of heart. a B at reed is probably an A+ at other institutions.
Google maps puts Powell’s Bookstore in downtown Portland at 10 min and 5.4 miles from Reed College. That’s with no traffic, but still…Maybe 20 min at rush hour. If you bike it’s more like 4.5 miles because the bike route is more direct.
I had a lot of Reed classmates who went on to law school and med school. But honestly even more who went on into grad school PhD programs and are now toiling away in academia in some form. But that was a while ago. I don’t know how things have changed today.
I would honestly expect it to paradoxically help more with admissions into the elite law schools and med schools who are likely to be more discerning and sophisticated in their admissions process and familiar with Reed’s academic reputation. Than mid-range law schools and med schools that may be more formulaic and uninterested in distinguishing between a Reed GPA and one from a directional state school.
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I am admitted to class of 2025. I am considering pre-med advising track. A few questions:
- Is the pre-med advising run by a committee or are students assigned department professors?
- What kind of programs/resources do they have for pre-meds? Opportunities for patient facing experience (job or volunteer)?
- Do they give everyone who wants to apply to med school a committee letter? (some schools gate-keep, and only allow support students with X GPA and X MCAT)
- Do they have an MCAT prep course?
- How many students in pre-med advising track drop-off the track? How many students in pre-med advising who apply for med school actually get accepted into med-school?
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For answers to some of your questions, such as that above, you may want to start by visiting Reed’s site:
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Sounds great
Yep, and that basically ends the interest.
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Thanks merc81
Congratulations on your acceptance to Reed!
For those who have been accepted to Reed. How was the Financial Aid package? My son is waiting on RD.
My daughter was accepted EA and we received the package in Feb. The package was more generous than I expected because it was slightly more than the difference between the sticker price and our EFC.
Based on one opinion?