Reed College Top Questions

Intense!

My favorite class is Hum220, a year-long survey course of modern Europe from the French Revolution to WWII. It introduces us to really important works of literature and events in history, and the quality of discussion is rigorous. At Reed it feels like they throw us into the deep end, and constantly raise the bar so we stay there, and that we learn a lot and fast. The Psychology department is wonderful. Almost every professor I've had or gone to a lecture of is someone who I end up having a lot of respect for, and someone who is very smart and very committed to their own subject or cause, but at the same time makes themselves personally available to students interpersonally. That is, most teachers don't make any hierarchical distinction between themselves and students. They are open to genuine interactions with us. I recently went with some kids from my Intro Psychology class to a cabin that our professor built himself with his wife and other Reedies in the 70's. We drove out there in the morning, hiked for a few hours, hung out and talked, and ate an early dinner. It was wonderful.

Academics were a big part of both why I went to Reed and why I dropped out. They are very good and very traditionally limited. There are none of the more recent interdisciplinary/identity politics/post-colonial theory inspired majors that other schools with similarly "left" leaning student bodies offer. Reed officially offers independent studies, but faculty are very reluctant to approve them. I wanted to work in urban studies and agroecology, and ultimately saw no other way to pursue my interests than to find another school. That said, within my field (at Reed) of anthropology and sociology, there is an abundance of resources available. Most faculty have enough energy, diversity of interests, and respect for their students to set up classes in such a way that we can explore our own interests through flexible semester projects. If I choose to go back, I can focus on urban sustainability studies simply by the research I do and papers I write. Reed's limited academic scope can feel very constraining, but there are definitely creative ways to work around it, and plenty of support, funding, and knowledge to draw on once you figure out what you want to do.

We have wonderful professors who expect a lot from us and get to know us really well. We refer to them by their first names. They know our names. They're the best thing about this school. Unfortunately, our small size means that there aren't always a lot of options as far as classes go--and even if we offer it, it'll probably be one section every-other-year, that may or may not conflict with a major requirement. But there are always interesting things to take! People work. Hard. You're expected to study a lot. Or at least pretend to. Students talk about academic stuff *a lot*. Even non-academic stuff gets talked about in an academic way. Students are stressed out. A lot. Since we don't get told our grades, except by asking our adviser, it's not really kosher to talk about them. But students will get competitive about how many hours they spend in the library, then laugh at themselves for doing it. I'm a biochemistry and molecular biology interdisciplinary major. I love the chemistry department!! Lots of requirements, but totally doable. Don't look down on non-science majors; they work just as hard, I promise. You can't just get by without doing work in ANY class here, and they're all really academically rigorous. This education prepares you to get a PhD. And does a damned good job at it.

My professors know my name. They talk to me. I know who they are and they know who I am. They WANT to get to know me. Class participation is not common it is constant, not an option but a requirement. I love chatting about my linear algebra homework. There are few things more enjoyable than showing a fellow student how to solve in a minute a problem they've been working on for a day.

Answering the questions: Call your professor by their first name because you are both worthy individuals. My favorite class was either the Hip Hop or the Tango PE classes. My favorite academic class was probably Contact Improvisation (the most unique class I've taken) or Art History. Or all the sweet Egyptology classes I took abroad in Egypt. Least favorite was Intro Sociology with William Tudor. Students don't "study" as in memorize facts, but spend an enormous amount of time in the library reading, researching, and writing papers. In a class 6 people large, participation is expected. All of us are intellectuals and tend to converse outside of class. The lack of grades helps ebb the competitive drive, but some people are *determined* pre-med. You wouldn't expect someone who is interested in Dance or Theater to go to Reed, because the departments are small, but, after nearly transferring to dance school, I've found several reasons that keep me here and believing that my time is being well spent. The environment here is unparalleled-- certainly not by a dance school. Reed takes a very intellectual approach to both the theater and dance, and I'm certainly a better artist for it.

You are being prepared for academia at Reed. When you're done you'll know how to right a 100 page thesis, you'll be able to read 300 pages daily for classes, and you'll know how to LEARN. Professors definitely know your name. I remember freshmen year when I was in intro chem and the prof knew my name by the second week - this is in a 100+ person class. Students rock the studying here. The library is a sacred place 24 hours a day - break the silence at your own danger. Honestly though, it's not a rare thing to work all through the weekend (10-8 PM), and all through the weekday (ex: in class 9-5, studying until 11). But that's me. You will have to work your ass off, but you can definitely be a slacker - you just have to be okay with that. There is no cut-throat competition at Reed. Everyone is just in the same boat - too much work, not enough time - and there is camaraderie in that.

Academics at Reed are brutally hard and will probably make you cry at least four times each semester. But then you get to write your thesis, so that's okay. Of course, the process of writing your thesis will probably make you cry at least four times every WEEK, but it's totally worth it. I'm an English major, and while Reed does not have a gender studies program, I've been writing gender studies papers in most of my classes for over two years, and my thesis is on gender dynamics in science fiction television. The professors have been incredibly encouraging and helpful, and I've learned more than I had ever imagined was possible. Reed is a small college, so we don't have the variety of classes that larger universities offer, but I've always been able to study what interests me -- even without a gender studies program, for example, it's possible to focus on gender studies in pretty much any literature class.

Academics are, of course, the highlight of Reed. The professors are for most part magnificent, and they always know you personally. Most professors will go out of their way to meet with and help students who ask for it (and maybe some who don't). They are, on the whole, academically encouraging. That said, the work load at Reed is really unfair. It's hard to have time for much else. Occasionally the discussion is intentionally arcane. And you'd better be really, really in love with the intellectual ideal.

I love humanities 110 because I love writing papers and thinking about literature. I'm taking music theory and I find it very interesting to look at music outside of playing it (all the theory I've had before has been in connection with playing or singing). A hard science (chemistry, physics or biology) is required of all Reed students for graduation. I'm taking chemistry, which was a bad choice because I never took it in high school. Though it's supposed to be an intro class, the pace is very fast and my mathematically-challenged brain has trouble keeping up. Still, of the sciences, from what I hear the intro chem class is the most cohesive and organized. Biology students get very little homework but have killer tests and labs; the physics class switches between professors a lot and gets a LOT of homework and boring labs. Classes are small, though (at least freshman year) not as small as advertised. My professors all seem to be intelligent and I respect all of them. Quantity of feedback varies but professors are always available to talk if you want to know more about a topic.