Reed College Top Questions

I interviewed my friend (and room mate) on some of the things she loves and hates about Reed and I tried to show the origins of most of the hot topics on Reed campus.

I wanted to capture everyday conversations I have with friends, I overhear walking across campus, or stories friends have told me. I feel like Reed students have conversations like these all the time and we just accept them as typical and don't realize how weird and truly unique they are to our school. I hope these videos provide some insight.

Gosh, I don't know what there is left to say. Um, I came to Reed without visiting. That could have been a HUGE mistake, because Reed is so...odd. But it wasn't. I love it here. Seriously, I'm quite rabid about this school. If you're an open-minded person who enjoys the pursuit of knowledge, it is likely that Reed will be right for you too. But come visit if you can! Best not leave these things to chance...

Reed is academically focused to the point of insanity. The school really does believe in learning for the sake of learning, which means they don't believe in allowing grades to boost your self-esteem by doing things like telling you if you are doing well, or giving out A's for anything short of perfection. As difficult as this can be, the school challenges you to figure out what is important to you, but you have to have the courage to leave if you figure out that academia is not for you.

The people and enviroment, lack of grade focus and strong individualism.

Reed is a very conservative curriculum with a very liberal student body. No one looks twice if you walk around wearing a toga, or ride on a bike that you've attached a pedal powered boom-box to creating spontaneous sub-free dance parties all around campus. There is a creativity that is unstifled and infact fueled on the Reed campus. I am loath to be graduating after the next year, because I know that it is unlikely that I'll be able to work somewhere as amazing as Reed.

A Reedie talks about his favorite movie, class and things to do in his free time.

A student talks about her favorite movie, class and things to do in her free time.

If you wear polo shirts and plaid shorts, do not enroll at this institution. If you pop your collar without being ironic, stay the fuck out of Portland.

Reed is a real mixed bag. I can't say I'm not learning, but on balance it's not somewhere I'd send anyone I love.

Our School President is amazingly presidential. Student/Administration/Faculty Relations are amazing

Just please, please VISIT! It's soooo much more important than anything, the media, the college counselors or I could ever say. Reed is not a college that will sit in the background while you attend it, it is in your face, so if you love it, great, but if not, then you might regret it. I feel sooo lucky to have found it, and the day I visited I knew it was what I wanted.

Reed is an amazing place for the right person. If you are for Reed, and Reed is for you then you can't ignore the chemistry!

I love my professors. I love Portland. I love my classes. I love my classmates. I love Reed.

After all I've said about how hard we work, we also play hard too. Take that to mean whatever you will.

No holds barred? My god... Ok. So I'm writing this from the foot of Songshan in Dengfeng, Henan province, China. I left because... well, Reed drives you crazy. I love it though. Not China, China's ok. Reed, is amazing. It's a beautiful, brilliant, sublime little shining light in the world and I hope it always stays that way. If you want to be stretched in every direction you never considered possible, it might be the place for you. You will meet crazy druggies, crazy poets, crazy intellectuals, and just crazies... they all have a right to be there and they are all part of the Reed experience. Love them all. They are all equally fascinating and all have something to add to your education in the subject of... everything. I miss reed. I miss having my ass kicked everyday by a workload that is simply not do-able. I miss the beautiful insane people I interact with on a daily basis. I miss those awkard interactions with people I know, and those I recognize, but don't know. It's a good place but it will drive you totally insane... in a very good way.

Portland weather sucks. Be prepared for that. You absolutely cannot be grade oriented here, and you must want to learn. Reed is a challenging school and most kids drop out their first year. But if you make it, it will change your life in ways that no other school will. Reed will not teach you facts, it will teach you how to learn and before you know it, you're the one people come to for facts because you're the one that found them. If you're really interested in Reed, then leave this website, get on a plane, and visit. Also, if your parents really want you to go here for the name, make sure you really want to go here for a better reason than that. Its going to be hard to beat Reed's academics and few institutions in the US can do it.

Reed is an awesome place!

Overall, Reed can be a really wonderful place, but this is entirely despite the administration. Reed's president, Colin Diver, is pompous, conservative, and far more interested in representing the interests of wealthy board members than in representing the interests of the student body. He has refused to follow through with student supported policy like banning Coca Cola products, or products made using sweatshop labor, citing political neutrality. He refuses to acknowledge that refusing to ban sweatshop labor is not a neutral statement, but a statement that says he supports sweatshop products and does not respect the wishes of the students. Most recently, Reed's history of covering up problems with drugs is coming to light. This is happening only after a student died recently of a heroin overdose. The administration does not report drug overdoses or the prevalence of drug use and drug dealing so that drug culture will not be reflected in any statistics. Instead, they reject applications from students with drug histories, send students with drug problems on medical leave without support, and make every effort to keep things very hush-hush. Sometimes it seems like Reed's only credibility and accountability comes from a small number of conscientious faculty, staff, and students.

It would take pages and pages and pages to describe Reed here. This isn't even the beginning. Don't come here if you don't have an open mind, or can't get along with a lot of different types of people.