Introduction and typical disclaimers
Reed College is the one topic I have alerts on. Despite the fact I've written on many other products, ideas and topics, I simply read about Reed, I don't write.

Why not? Well, I was there between 1985 and 1987. The following year I went on the Junior Year Abroad programme to Munich. So my experience is, to say the least, limited. It was short, and a long time ago.

In fact, I didn't finally get my degree from Reed; I got it from a university in England. Part time. In the evenings. And I'm not talking Oxford or Cambridge here.

So how did I find Reed? Well....

Why I chose to go there
There has been a lot in the English press recently about 'different' children. More to the point, about 'bullied' children. I was one of them. Keeping in mind I finished high school in 1985, I didn't like Yes (which was only popular for one song) or Def Leppard. I liked Jethro Tull, The Who, Pink Floyd and even worse, FOLK MUSIC. However, I didn't belong to the 'druggie' crowd (who liked that kind of music), but nor did I belong to the 'smart' crowd (whose music tastes didn't really matter - after all, they were smart). No, I was a group of one.

In eleventh grade, my father asked me to start looking at colleges and universities. I hadn't even taken my PSATs, much less my SATs. 'Why,' I thought. Since I wouldn't do it, my dad did.

Every other school send a form letter along the lines of "thank you for your interest and here's how wonderful we are...blah blah blah". Reed didn't. They sent a letter saying, "how nice that you're father thinks Reed would be right for you. Now what do YOU think?!" This impressed me.

So I applied for Reed, and got in.(unsurprisingly, since even in 1984/85, they had a high acceptance rate. Having said that, I have a theory. This is going to be the longest parenthetical comment in the world. Reed, at least at the time, was special, in that not many people had heard of it. Those that had, KNEW they wanted to go there. Very few applied, knowing they wouldn't get in. Very few applied for Reed as their second choice. It was an unusual school.)

So I off I fly from New York to Oregon.

Being There (hasn't that title already been taken?)
OK. I was there. You already know I didn't finish. Why not? What was good - what was bad?

Good
We were ALL different. For once, I found liking fantasy, '70's music and reading was not bizarre. Joy!! Being smart wasn't a crime. Nor was being disillusioned with school, and indeed with systems in general. Cool! No-one TOLD you what to do! There were no grades - OK, that's not strictly true. You got grades, but they didn't tell you what they were unless (a) you asked; or (b) they were really bad (below a C). They only started giving grades, I'm told, because Reed students were having a hard time getting into grad school without them.

The three rules of dorm life (at the time) were (1) No Pets; (2) No firearms; and (3) No walking on the roof. The no walking on the roof rule was because of the hugely expensive roof tiles on the old dorm block. Therefore, we all said we were going to take our dog to the roof and shoot it. Of course, no-one (to my knowledge) ever did it.

The Bad - or Why didn't you finish there
Good god, this bit's harder. I had come from a high school that had a lot of kids. Some were smart, some weren't. I was top middle. I was, I guess, kind of happy there. I didn't have to work. But if I didn't do my homework, I got in 'trouble'. At Reed, I didn't get in trouble. No-one yelled. I just failed (I was fortunate - I wasn't on financial aid, so that was only an issue with my parents). I wasn't used to this. But this could have happened with any university (although I think it was more crucial at Reed - they were keener to treat you as adults).

It was the competition, and most of all, the POLITICS. First, let's look at competition. It wasn't like in high school. Since grades weren't publicised, that wasn't the issue. It was everything else. When did you finish your essay? How many pages? How long did you spend in the library? How many drugs did you take?

The drug culture was there - in fact in the mid eighties, Reed was infamous for it. But to speak honestly, there was no pressure. I chose not to participate (I have enough trouble with one reality, I don't need another on top of that, thank you very much), and that was never a problem with other students. That REALLY didn't bother me.

What got me was the politics. One day, and I'm not making this up, there was a 'protest anything you want protest.' Of course, the caveat was 'so long as it's politically correct.' Good god. I thought about protesting constipation, but I was too stuck up (ha ha). Common sense went out the window - even I, at 18 or 19 could see that.

My Recommendation
I am going to repeat my disclaimer - my experience was in the mid-eighties. Not the mid-nineties or 2000. What happened to and with me may NOT happen to you or your children, nephews, nieces or whatever. Given that:

If you have a child who is Self Disciplined, a bit of a rebel (in the best possible way - no cheerleaders, that kind of thing), academic, willing to work hard WITHOUT external motivation and, most importantly, basically happy within him or herself, then Reed is a great school. Academically, it is superb. The atmosphere is (was) unlike anything he or she will have experienced in high school.

I'm glad I went. I'm sorry I wasn't ready for it at the time. But I wasn't. So dropping out was the best thing for me.

In case you're interested, I got my degree ten years later part time here in England. The school wasn't as academically good as Reed, but I was ready.

Have fun, thanks for you attention,

Cheers,
Kate

Recommended: Yes