The best thing about Reed is the incredible people, including faculty. In my 7 months here, I have met a huge number of talented, motivated, and flat out interesting students, faculty, and professors. Everyone has some quirk that makes them interesting to talk to. The size of the school is perfect, in my opinion; it is easy to know a large number of people and still make close friends easily.

When I tell people where I go to college, I get a huge spectrum of responses. From "Reed? Where's that?" to "Wow!" The school is definitely under appreciated (for now), but the people who know about Reed generally recognize it as the academically rigorous place it is.

Essentially, I would say: Know that you will fit in; be prepared to work hard; be prepared to be accepting of other people; and get ready for a truly unique experience.

Knowing professors here is similar to knowing them in high school. Reed's conference style classes really allow student-teacher interaction on a personal level that you can't get at huge universities. As a result of these conference style classes, class participation is off the charts: from insight to questions, everything gets addressed.

Conversation outside of class regarding coursework is common, sometimes too common. People here are generally interested in subjects outside of their concentration, allowing good conversations to flow regularly.

My favorite class right now is my Introduction to Analysis class in the math department. Reed's philosophy of teaching makes this class very different from any math class I've taken in high school. Instead of being calculation based, this class teaches the students why the mathematics they are learning works. It is an incredible system, and I have derived more from this math class than any I have previously taken.

Reed's academic requirements are demanding, and force you to vary from your field throughout your career here. It is a liberal arts college, after all :)

Reed's education is definitely, definitely geared toward learning for its own sake. There are no perfectly job-aligned majors here, and classes are designed to be rigorous, rather than to pump out tons of undergrads with degrees.

If one stereotype holds true, it is that students are overwhelming liberal. In fact, I would say that it could be uncomfortable to be fully right wing and go to this school.

Reed is a school full of hardworking hippies who do a lot of drugs, sleep very little, and are all bizarre individuals in some respect.

Yes and no. I have met more hardworking, inspired individuals at this school than anywhere else. But by no means will you feel excluded if you don't see yourself as a 'hippie' or if you are substance free. The 'bizarre individuals' aspect is true in the sense that it takes a certain kind of person to fit in here. If you are considering this school, you're already halfway there. Visiting is probably the best way to know if you will fit in; traditional normality doesn't exist here.

If you know you will fit in here, then there is no better place in the world for you.