<p>I'm really stuck! It's very close to a free ride for me at either school, and I would consider myself a hippie (Reed) before I would consider myself a hipster. One thing that really worries me about Reed is the intense workload, and I want to have time for extracurriculars. I really like that Vassar has an emphasis on art and I've heard that its music programs aren't bad, but I'm interested in environmental science and I'm worried that the program isn't that strong. (How is the program at Reed? Does the core curriculum get in the way?)</p>
<p>I'm also a vegetarian (I would imagine both schools would have decent food, but I don't know...). Unfortunately I don't think I will get a chance to visit Reed (although I am kind of sold on the lookbook...)</p>
<p>based solely on anectodal information, while Portland is a much better college town than Poughkeepsie, Vassar has a much more balanced culture and lifestyle. I’ve known a few kids who have transferred out of Reed saying that kids studied all the time and had or took no time to do other things. Music is a perfect example. Vassar has a strong performing arts culture, but Reed does not–again based solely on what kids have told me.</p>
<p>I can’t say anything from observation about Vassar. The stats say it’s a good school but not in Reed’s class for intellectual rigor. Then again, few colleges are, at least as far as one can tell from things like the percentage of graduates who go on to earn doctorates.</p>
<p>That said, as a Reed graduate I concur that the work is incessant, but I can also tell you that there’s time for extracurriculars. My frame for that is partly based on a simple arithmetical fact: there are 168 hours in the week (24 x 7). Nobody consistently spends more than about 40% of that on their classwork, research, papers. And some spend considerably less. I found time for recreational music and dance, volunteering to tutor high school students in downtown Portland, and plenty of hanging with my friends (arguably a lot in serious discussions of things).</p>
<p>I don’t know a lot about Reed’s environmental studies but can say that their program in biology is among the very best in the country, and they have long given attention to the natural environment and not just to theoretical concerns. Now they have an interdisciplinary major that looks pretty exciting to me: [Reed</a> College | Environmental Studies | Home](<a href=“http://academic.reed.edu/es/]Reed”>Environmental Studies - Reed College). And Reed’s location not just in Portland but near the coast, the Cascade Range (with Reed having its own ski cabin on Mt. Hood), and the Columbia River Gorge makes for an exciting “field” in which to do your own research.</p>
<p>Reed is going to have a solid, established, stand alone department of Environmental Science this year-so the college definitely is definitely serious about building that area of study.</p>
<p>I know Reed doesn’t have a curricular emphasis on the arts, but there are plenty of opportunities to pursue the arts. Reed has fairly decent Art and Music departments, if those are your areas of interest.</p>
<p>Also, I’d like to point out that if what’s drawing you to Reed is that it’s a hippie school, you might want to reconsider because that is increasingly proving to be a myth; Reed is more a mix of all sorts of students and you might be disappointed if you came in expecting a place full of hippies. Quirky-yes, but hippie-no, is the thumb rule to go by, especially if it’s a deciding factor for you.
I don’t know much about Vassar, but at least, by today’s standards, they’re not any less hippie-ish than Reed.</p>
<p>I think of Reed as more hipster (Wikipedia: “middle class and upper class young people associated with alternative culture, particularly alternative music, independent rock, alternative hip-hop, independent film and a lifestyle revolving around thrift store shopping, eating organic, locally grown, vegetarian, and/or vegan food, drinking local beer (or even brewing their own), listening to public radio, and riding fixed-gear bicycles”) than hippie, but if your are hippie you’ll likely feel right at home at Reed, given the general quirkiness.</p>
<p>^ I’d agree with vossron. In terms of hippie/hipster culture, Vassar equals Reed, by and large. What really distinguishes the two colleges is the curricular model and academic focus of each. So, you have to decide which you prefer on those bases.</p>
<p>Do you think going to a school that may be perceived as less academically intense may hurt my chances of going to grad school if that’s what I choose to do? And thanks for all the responses so far-- they’re really helpful.</p>
<p>I’d say the issue is that Reed is more academically intense, and therefore you would likely learn more at the school that demands more of you, and grad schools know this.</p>
<p>Reed is going to have a solid, established, stand alone department of Environmental Science this year-so the college definitely is definitely serious about building that area of study.</p>
<p>That is really exciting- I guess I should read the magazine.</p>
<p>^ Some alumni are furious about it, emeraldkity4, because it veers from the “pure and traditional” areas of study, but I think Reed is pretty serious about going through with it, and current Reedies would be happy too. Reed definitely needs a dose of non-traditional areas of study, and Environmental Studies would be a good way to start.</p>
<p>Note that Reed is not adding an Environmental Studies department; a new interdisciplinary major has been defined, where a focus is picked from one of five traditional areas. Two ES “courses” were actually added, junior seminar and senior thesis; all other courses remain in the traditional departments.</p>
<p>Not everyone agrees that Reed should become more like other schools; I think few want it to start down that path.</p>
<p>^ Yes, department is a bit misleading. Major/Programme (as with ICPS) would be more appropriate, but the only difference with other interdisciplinary majors, is that Reed claims to be picking out faculty that focus on environmental issues in their broader areas of research. This would, in effect, create a sort of mini-department that is specialised, or so Reed hopes.</p>
<p>That looks great- I won’t tell D2’s roommate @ Western though, she was accepted to Reed, but couldn’t swing the finances and is an environmental science major at Western Wa.</p>
<p>Both are wonderful choices. If location is not of concern to the OP (is it??) consider that if the OP plans to stay on one coast or the other, the familiarity with the school name can be a helpful variable in job placement. Vassar has, IMO, a stronger name recognition than Reed, especially in the east. Vassar is plenty rigorous academically and does well placing students in med/law/grad school. Also, at Vassar you can create your own major, so if you don’t feel the environmental studies major is exactly what you are looking for, you can create your own, pulling in more courses from the biological sciences, etc. </p>
Here’s an example of where a Vassar education can get you in your field. He was a classmate of mine (I think I aged more gracefully, LOL). I was also pretty sure that VC had an environmental science major (or course sequence within the Envt Studies program), but perhaps they changed it, as the coursework I found in on line is from an old catalog Vassar College: Environmental Science Courses</p>
<p>It kind of balances out, I think, jym626. We’re not comparing to Ivies here-both are small, Liberal Arts Colleges that don’t rely on name recognition as their strongest suit. That being said, Reed’s name recognition is not significantly less than Vassar’s; in fact, like you said, with Vassar on the East Coast, Reed may do better on the West Coast.</p>
<p>Here’s Reed’s biggest gift to the world of Environmental Science and Activism. The former President of the Sierra Club. Here’s how a Reed Environmental Science degree can very well have application in your field, as well.</p>
<p>^Vassar isn’t AS grad-school focussed as Reed. I’m pretty sure more Vassarites enter the job market than Reedies do, so that’s a definite plus for Vassar, but I wouldn’t say that’s based on the brand value of their undergraduate degree; it’s more a measure of their aspirations.</p>