Reed College Top Questions

The best thing about Reed is the intellectual environment. You are never without a problem to solve or an argument to put together. I would change the tour guide mentality. They come across as morons. Reed is perfectly sized. 95{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of people have no idea what Reed is, and assume that it is a second-rate place for rich smart kids. The other 5{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} know that it is a first rate place for smart kids (many of whom are pretty well off) I spend most of my time in my room. Portland is a great city, but you won't get off campus much. The Reed administration is highly competent and pretty hard-nosed. Biggest recent controversy was grafiti that got put on an art exhibition. No school pride, except we all miss Reed when we arent here. Reed is so academically charged that it is extremely unusual for a college. Renn Fayre is quite memorable, though over-hyped. Our cafeteria dramatically overcharges for EVERYTHING.

Reed. It's a great collection of creative "quirky" amazing people who have a large drive to learn, and spend almost too much time studying. There is a ridiculous work load, but you'll learn to read faster and how to read affectively. I spend most of my time on campus split between the library, the scrounge and the sportscenter- mostly in the library. Sometimes it's hard to strike a balance between life and academics, as the academics at Reed can at times be overwhelming. It's a really good idea to take some time away from Reed when you're here, to gain a perspective and make sure you have the drive to come back and finish at Reed. Portland is an amazing and fun city, but when you're at Reed you don't always have time to appreciate everything it has to offer. Students often get trapped "in the bubble", especially those students who live on campus. Owning a bike is a necessity in Portland.

Personally Reed was a great match for me and despite the crushing workload and all, I still really love it. I don't think it is a school for everyone. I think a lot of people would hate coming here. It's hard. You will not have as much time as other college students you know to leave campus, even though Portland is great if you make it there. If you are a science major, you'll probably have days when you don't see the light of day, after 4 hour bio lab, you will get out and you will look at the dreary Portland sky and miss the sun. The sun does come out, and when it does it's great because everyone appreciates it and goes outside. But sometimes it rains all week. Sometimes you won't even notice because you'll spend all week in the library. On weekends though, and on days when you don't have to study like crazy, the campus is a great place to be and if you get tired of dancing here, or seeing movies here, Portland is everything you could ask for in a city, except that some things close kind of early. But there is a lot of stuff to do on campus. Everything really comes alive and there's a really exciting, fun culture in between the intense academics.

*the best thing about reed is its roster of unique events and traditions you won't find anywhere else, like noise parade (exactly what it sounds like); fetish ball (again, exactly what it sounds like); RKSK (Reed Kommunist Shit Kollective, a group responsible for various forms of mischievous fun, included but not limited to: supplying library with stuffed animals for late-night cuddling; kommunal borscht; giant skrabble (winners often receive spliffs); kommunal umbrellas for use during rain season; random couch/hammock placement; the sunny day vodka lemonade kart; and most importantly, kommie bikes--cheap kid's bikes spray painted red and left around campus to use at your convenience.); couches on the lawn; and above all Ren Fayre, the end of the year celebration of out and out craziness and bacchanalia involving lots of insane projects, many of which are burned/destroyed ceremonially, Thesis Parade (burning of seniors' thesis drafts), champagne showers, music, nudity, drug piñatas, fire, and sometimes a moon bounce! best time of the year. one thing i'd change: people's condescending, hipper-than-thou attitudes. size: a bit too small--i thought that's what i wanted, but a few hundred more people would be nice. reed reactions: a lot more people have actually heard of reed since it was dubiously dubbed one of the "new ivies" by newsweek. i get questions about the academic rigor, portland, and of course, the drugs. one kid i met at a party senior year asked me where i was going and when i told him i was headed to reed, he said, "awesome. i mean, they smoke a lot of weed there, people are crazy." then he paused and said, "but wait, don't you have to be, like, really smart?" i told him that on the rare occasions i am not partying, i actually read and stuff. place on campus i spend the most time: tie between the library and the student union, as grungy as the latter is (it's charming). town: yes a college town, but more accurately an urban lite city. the food here is great--more thai, vietnamese, and japanese than you can try--and there are some great quirky neighborhoods complete with vintage stores, record stores, bars, all sorts of cool crap. good music scene too--unless you're under 21. when your favorite band comes to town, you probably won't seem them until they come back after your 21st birthday.portland is not an all-ages friendly city, or even much of a 24-hour one even if you are. coming from a big city like chicago, portland sometimes doesn't feel like a real city at all--it's very new, unsettlingly clean in some parts, and doesn't have the same kind of diversity. reed administration: a mixed bag. there are some great folks intent on preserving reed's uniqueness and defending student interests...and some who aren't. but the administration does go out of its way to involve students in important decisions involving new policy, professor appointments, and more. school pride: yes and no. in many ways i am proud to call myself a reedie and share weird stores that my friends at university of illinois might not even believe. i am proud of the focus on learning rather than performing. but it's a love-hate relationship, and i think most students would say the same. somtimes you love reed, sometimes you fucking hate it. everything is unusual about reed. but we do have in-door plumbing. experience i'll always remember: my first renn fayre. just not the actual order in which my experiences occurred and some other hazy details about that weekend like how i ended up asleep on a bean bag in the basement laundry room.

People are typically impressed when they find out I go to Reed, that is, if they've ever heard about Reed before. There is a lot of school pride, but I think that it's often the sort of pride that one feels towards a child that's doing much better than can be expected, but is still falling short of its full potential.

There are three distinct reactions when people find out I go to Reed. Many people have never heard of it, and those who have are either familiar with it as an elitist intellectual haven or a place filled with sex, drugs, and indie rock.

I like how seriously academic study is taken at Reed. Sometimes it is even taken too seriously. In my opinion, however, if one is going to go to college to study you might as well go to a place that specializes in valuing academics above all else. However, this is sometimes taken to extremes, and people should know this before coming to Reed. Therefore, I would change how reed advertises itself. I would want them to say that it is less of a normal liberal arts education and more akin to an an undergraduate technical training school for those who want to or could see themselves going to graduate school. Of those who don't go on to graduate school and/or stay in academics, however, there are also many reedies who simply use the strong work ethic they've acquired at reed to succeed in other job sectors.

The school is really small, around 1300 and the campus is very small as well. There's a definite Reed bubble that's hard to escape. It takes a real effort to spend time off campus, especially when you have a lot of work. Moreover, the students are socially awkward, which makes the Reed bubble something a lot of students (unsuccessfully) try to escape. There's a big stress culture at Reed, which many students dislike. During exams we have a stim table where you can basically get pills, caffeinated beverages, and food for free. While there is a lot of work, people like to be really dramatic about it. Despite its liberal leanings, there's a lot of sexism and racism at Reed. The student body isn't particularly active on these issues. One unusual thing about Reed is Renn Fayre, which is a weekend long celebration for graduating seniors. It's a giant, school-sponsored party with bug-eating contests, a thesis parade, a drug pinata, and lube wrestling. It's supposed to be a way to let off steam for graduating seniors and for those about to take their final exams.

Best thing: smart people who are there to learn, you can talk about the most academic things anywhere, any time and it's all good. Change: More time for fun, it would be cool if people didn't take themselves so seriously. Reactions: A lot of people have never heard of Reed. If they have they either think you're really smart, a hippy drug addict, or a rich pretentious snob. Most time on campus is spent in the library, or walking from the library to get a coffee. Sometimes you forget you are in a city, but Portland is really cool. Administration is always crap, but some years marginally better than others. There is alt-school pride, it's not like many people wear the sweatshirt, but there's a kind of combat veteran pride with each stage you survive (Hum 110, Junior Qual, and of course Thesis).

The best thing about Reed is the intense atmosphere, it pushes you to your limit and makes you a stronger person from it. Paradoxically this is also one of the works things about Reed, it can become really overwhelming. Most people think Reed students are smart... There is a lot of school pride. Reed students seem to have the perception, that they are working the hardest and are some of the smartest students anywhere in the Us.