Would this e-mail make you want to attend Reed College?

Applying to College
1

My sister, a junior in High School, got this e-mail from Reed College the other day. Its overt pretentiousness immediately turned her off of a school she was thinking of applying to. It didn’t make me think much of Reed either:

Hi ________,

I realized today after my second cup of tea that I haven’t heard back from
you on the email I sent a couple weeks ago. You might be thinking:

What email?
Thought you were some random dude selling Peter Frampton Greatest Hits
CDs.
I was in Portugal.
I was busy reading Sophocles in the original Greek.
I was busy explaining to my friends that Sophocles isn’t a kind of
mosquito.
I’m just not interested in this unique, challenging, and rewarding
college.
I already sent my postcard in, so the mail must be really slooooooow.

No matter what your reason, if you’d like to learn more, I’d love to tell
you about Reed.

<hr>

Sorry Reed. This may attract a certain type of student, but it didn’t attract me (or my sister).

2

<p>hey, I got it too :D</p>

3

<p>I think it's kinda cute! :)</p>

<p>I admit that I don't get the cup of tea, however. Starbucks?</p>

4

<p>Good lord. That is a pretty irritating email..</p>

5

<p>I think this is where the genration gap rears its ugly head. I'll bet the author is 50+....like me.</p>

<p>One thing I have learned about college admissions is that you can't judge a school by its admission office. The students at Reed probably think its corny, too.</p>

6

<p>Huh? I don't get it. Sounds more like an email from a stalker.</p>

7

<p>yeah i can see why that e-mail may come off as lame but i think the writer had good intentions.</p>

8

<p>As another member of the other side of the generation gap, I can't believe how pretentious that is...Reed caters to students who need to explain Sophocles to their clueless, academically challenged friends???</p>

<p>Gosh I hope not, and I don''t think so, really. I bet most profs and students there would be mortified if they knew this was being sent out.</p>

9

<p>i personally like it...reminds me of a uchicago one that was also pretty casual....</p>

<p>it sure is a lot better than the traditional</p>

<p>As the time comes for applying to colleges is approaches, I hope you will consider XYZ. Blah Blah Blah... or</p>

<p>We have heard of your outstanding achievements and urge you to consider XYZ.....</p>

10

<p>walkstraight- I don't doubt the author's good intentions, I just thought it was a very pretentious and egotistic e-mail.</p>

<p>I thought UChicago's were funnier, more down-to-earth and a little self-deprecating too, so I liked theirs better.</p>

11

<p>Chicago's did have a little more self deprecation, and a bit of 'I know we are lame'-ness. I really liked Reed for the longest time, but wow, what a pretentious email..tea?!?! What, does everyone in Reed sport faux-british accents and watch masterpiece theatre?</p>

12

<p>Is it the cup of tea that makes you think this is pretentious? Because I'm sure there are some homeless shelters that serve tea.</p>

<p>But it definitely is trying too hard to be casual and funny.</p>

13

<p>Hrm. I find it funny, corny, and not-so-serious at all.</p>

<p>I wouldn't have opened the e-mail in the first place.</p>

14

<p>I think it's really lame and corny, which makes it funny. I would never consider reed in the first place though, it's a bit too strange for me</p>

15

<p>It does stand out...but not in a good way. I would think, "yeah, I didn't reply to your first email, so stop bothering me with a second one." It's not really pretentious, but it's not clever enough to even merit anything coming close to a smile. I'd be more irritated that I had wasted time opening such an email.</p>

16

<p>aim78- it's not the line about cup of tea that screams pretension IMO (I drink tea myself!) but rather the lines about Socrates and the school itself. Yeah I guess it is pretty corny too, and funny, but only unintentionally so.</p>

17

<p>


</p>

<p>I would have honestly thought it was that.</p>

18

<p>Oh man, as a Reed graduate, I'm not happy. That email is everything you guys have said it is--lame, corny, witless, etc. Every Reedie I know would agree. Now, if you will be so kind, I must return to my desk, for my darjeeling is beginning to cool, and I am eager to get back to my dog-eared copy of Philoctetes.</p>

19

<p>Back when I was receiving five letters from colleges a day, I appreciated anything out of the ordinary so I would've liked it.</p>

20

<p>(what -- do Americans not drink tea?)</p>