<p>From all the articles that the Seattle Times has been printing about choosing/preparing for college- I am not the only one who finds it fascinating!</p>
<p><B</p>
<p>Rite of passage and ordeal - this is right up my alley, too EK: "How to pick a school, get in and pay for it". I especially liked "Be Strategic, Not Neurotic." I keep on reminding myself about that ever so often ...</p>
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So, be strategic but not neurotic: Get informed about colleges and the admissions process. And then, try to keep perspective.
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<p>ek4, how do you feel about Reed College being lumped together with community colleges as a good fit for B students?</p>
<p>I didn't get the impression that it was-( this is from the article entitled "Quality schools to B students"</p>
<p>The article that cites the Loren Pope book that mentions Reed/Evergreen and Whitman as schools in the Northwest that are less known but offer a good education, also gives the impression that a student with a 3.60GPA made a good decision to go to Evergreen. ( which seems high to me)</p>
<p>It also mentions that Whitman has 15% of its student body are B students in high school, but I notice that they don't mention the portion of Reed students that are B students ( @ Reed the average high school GPA is 3.90 & average mean for SAT is 2051)</p>
<p>I would agree that Reed along with Evergreen is a school that has a better repuation outside the northwest- for instance one dad ( whose son is attending Pacific Lutheran university) upon learning where my D was attending college- replied that it was Ok for a local school- but some students were ready for a higher level of education-
( since she was about midway through at the time & we had learned pretty quickly that the reputation for rigor wasn't exagerated- I just thought to myself-* ya- my MIL thought I should have driven myself to the hospital when I was in labor too! and some people pierce their own ears ( like my 6 year old)* but a student who doesn't think Reed offers enough academics- I don't want to meet)</p>
<p>And PLU while a good school and we were going to consider it- for a time- has almost double the acceptance rate of Reed- but I just chewed on the inside of my cheek instead of saying anything- because it wasn't the time or place :)</p>
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I didn't get the impression that it was-( this is from the article entitled "Quality schools to B students"
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<p>As you say, Reed isn't a household name except in educationally astute households. I suspect the author of the above article was a little confused, probably because Loren Pope lumped Reed with Evergreen State as good schools with low-profile reps (I'm quite sure Pope doesn't see Reed as a B-student school). I'm personally very enthusiastic about Evergreen for B students -- it's a wonderful environment for anybody, though not an academic powerhouse. But the Seattle Times does nobody a favor by encouraging lower-achieving kids to shoot for Reed.</p>
<p>Gotta say, though, that D seems very comfortable there. She enjoys the company of her very smart colleagues.</p>
<p>Speaking of books geared towards the B Student- I really did like the book "Americas Best Colleges for B Students" by Tamra Orr. Covers some of the same territory as the Pope book, but I felt his schools were too small and in some rural areas. May not be the best selection for kids who want to be in a more urban environment. The Orr book covers a broader range of choices including large public U's as well as the smaller rural college.
Also liked the website <a href="http://www.collegesofdistinction.com%5B/url%5D">www.collegesofdistinction.com</a>. Not all the schools geared towards B students, but emphasis on small learning environments, Professors who teach and little reliance on TA's or large lecture classes.</p>
<p>Im glad she is having a good time at Reed-
did they have harvest ball?
I never can remember which of their dances is especially wild-</p>
<p>I think Reed is well served by being in a city- if it was that size and in eastern oregon somewhere- it would be even less known.
For instance D didn't even want to look at Whitman- the combination of a small town in rural Washington didn't even come up for consideration unfortunately</p>