Reed College Top Questions

Most of us are indeed intelligent. There is a lot of weed but it is not a requirement. Some people are outspoken, but the ratio of quiet:loud is about the same as it is anywhere. There are fewer truly radical people here than the stereotype and the literature suggests; same goes for crazy (in fact I find the lack of all-out craziness a bit disappointing). Some people certainly are masochistic about their workloads ("You have a paper and a problem set due tomorrow? Well, I have two papers, the same problem set, a lab write-up, a scholarship renewal, an analysis of a Bach chorale and a French translation due. Plus I just broke up with my boyfriend. So shut up.") but this attitude is not all-prevailing, and sometimes simple commiseration does occur. There's a fair number of hippies but it's by no means the whole student body. And most of us would have been called nerds in high school, yes, but not everybody.

Our own self-imposed stereotypes are vaguely accurate but ultimately not useful. Lots of Reedies fit that description precisely, but the student body has more diversity of sub-culture than that. Most of the folks I hang out with don't prioritize drugs, are anarchists or marxists rather than 'liberals', smell funny sometimes (every now again, after a demonstration, it's the lingering pepper-spray smell...), and know how to balance being healthy and sane with good study habits. As for our oftentimes infamous reputation in Portland, it is vaguely true, as with any stereotype... coming from a lower-middle class background, I find the flaunting of wealth and privilege (especially through irresponsible drug use and are well-known 'Renn Fayre') oftentimes obnoxious, but it's the same with any similar school.

Not really. Reedies are just plain weird. And Reed isn't exactly an intellectual place either. It's a place for information cramming. If you want to learn a whole bunch of polysyllabic words and be describing absolutely nothing, then come to Reed. Better yet, take a course in semiotics. Reed will teach you how to sound smart, but not to be able to make a real contribution to the world. Ask Reedies to talk about dicent indexical sinsigns; you will get a dissertation. Ask Reedies what they've done to help the world; the room will fall speechless. Try getting a job after Reed: Look at where Reedies are employed. The Reed Department of Institutional Research even told me that companies don't like to hire Reed grads right out of college.

To varying degrees. There is a definite Reed stereotype, but very few people fit it exactly, and people that are the total opposite to it can be found somewhat frequently.

Some of these are accurate. I've met all of the above at Reed. There are probably fewer independently minded people than you would think, but the stereotypes about what it means to be independently minded are just that, so it might be hard to convince others of the truth. I've known a number drug addicts at this school, but I wouldn't say they're the norm. I'm probably just out of touch with the cream of the crop.

Mostly.

The vast majority of Reedies are fairly well-adjusted, academically motivated, eccentric, and friendly (if stressful) people. While there are a good number of people who fit the stereotypes, they are rarely two-dimensional caricatures.

Reed certainly is a relaxed place, with a very lax drug and alcohol policy and a very open-minded and progressive student body. (On most things, at least.) Drug use is very present on campus, although it certainly doesn't apply to everyone and there really isn't any peer pressure. Like any college campus, there is also alot of drinking, and at almost any party there will be almost definitely be alcohol, although there is no pressure to drink either.

Yes, however the student population is changing. Freshmen classes are looking more clean, are better looking, and are more "mainstream" than older Reedies.

True. We are supremely liberal in the sense that we do not have any patience for prejudice or intolerance. And we are quintessentially open-minded in that we understand that every single one of us entitled to our own point of view and that often our most strongly held convictions are fundamentally irrational. True. We are quite nerdy: you can't walk around campus without overhearing a learned conversation about some author you've never read (or that you've never even heard of), or an argument about how to carry out an organic synthesis. Indeed, most Reedies are not only clever, but devoted to their disciplines. Recreational drug use is popular, but what is understated is that heaviest users usually don't make it through, or that they tone down around the junior year. By the time you're writing your senior thesis, you're usually too busy to experiment with chemically-induced cerebral expansion, or you've had enough experience to know that there are better ways to make true intellectual progress. We do have full blown hippies. But we've got just as many future investment bankers and annoying pre-meds who live every moment in pursuit of the perfect medical school application (although this tendency, like drug use, tends to be tempered by the junior year). And if you spend any time around Reed you will eventually meet someone who works very hard simply for the love of learning, or the desire to push themselves to the limit. True. There is a great deal of social awkwardness, substantially more than elsewhere. People you've met will walk by and stare intently at an imaginary object just above your head, or right before your feet, and never say a word or squeak a smile. The person you built up the courage to shake hands with at a party is likely to remember your name for all the years you share the campus, but never speak a word to you again (indeed, they may even hide from you). But rest-assured, there are a few social prodigies who are so outgoing and good-natured that they set us straight: after four years even the quirkiest and most shy will see that it is possible to put away self-consciousness and the desire for approval, and will seem more normal. True. We are hedonistic. But who isn't out to have a good time? True. We are often irreverent. But then, how much reverence does the status quo really deserve? Finally, what is not praised enough is our sense of humor. Half of everyone you know here is ridiculously funny, if only you can wait long enough to see it come out.