Reed College Top Questions

Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

Royce

Though there are certainly plenty of pretentious budding philosophs, socially awkward geeks, vegan feminists, and people who always show up to class high, there are also Reedies who vote Republican, wear clothes from J. Crew, are unabashedly sexist, never set foot in the library, and play football on the quad (though probably poorly).

Chris

(see above), also, though, no because each individual reedie comes from a very different background, engages in different activities and range from the spectrum of being "normal" to "bookish" to "crazy/artsy/etc"

April

I think the school isn't as academically rigorous or intellectual as they make themselves out to be, although it is both academically rigorous and intellectual. The student body isn't as liberal as the stereotype suggests and the campus is pretty politically passive (the student government is exercising less and less power and fewer people care) and very white. The drug use, non-mainstream/weird/crazy stereotype is pretty accurate.

Brett

It would be hard to get through the Hiedegger while on serious drugs. There is some truth to the stereotypes, but not across the board. One might like philosphy and coffee while not being rich, snotty or drug addicted. But one might also be snotty and a heavy smoker without the coffee or philosophy. Nearly all Reedies are really smart, even with the "dumb" ones, dumb is realtive term.

Reese

The school is eccentric in certain ways, but this eccentricism seems to become the norm at Reed and therefore is no longer so eccentric. Not all ideas are accepted.

Paige

In most cases yes.

Brooke

Certainly, some (many, even) Reedies exhibit these traits in some combination, though there remain many people with perfectly respectable social skills, along with a fairly conventional social structure that does include groups (not just "free-spirited" lone rangers), and many of us do manage to walk without falling down (very often) despite our burgeoning intellects.

Maximilian

they are more exaggerated than anything else. the student body is much more milquetoast than anyone would have you believe. at its best and worst, it is all of these things. most of the time, it's just too much caffeine, too little sleep, and not enough social interaction. the administration has been actively selecting for these traits- harder-working and better students, perhaps, but less spontaneous and more boring.

Shawn

I would say that the amount of students at Reed who do drugs is no different than the amount on another campus. The only reason Reed has a reputation for drug use is because people are more open about it. I'm not sure about social ineptness, though. Reedies definitely aren't like most of the popular people you knew in high school, but they aren't socially inept. Reedies are friendly and are quite able to form relationships. And really, it's hard to classify Reedies by only a few types. Like any place, there's a pretty wide spread of personalities. Reedies are exceptionally hard working. Not all Reedies, as it's possible to skate by at Reed, but most. More people than you think are in the library on a Friday night (not necessarily working on a paper). Perhaps this is what people mean by socially awkward.

Alex

Yes. But not all of us are dirty. Most are nerdy. All are awkward. People probably don't know that we have fun too.

Jerry

yes

Maddy

In reality Reedies are a lot more accessible than they seem, and we actually do take showers. While there are a lot of intellectual conversations, there is also and element of everyday fun that people tend to overlook.

Catherine

It depends. There are definitely some kids at Reed who still have a lot of growing up to do, but I think most of my friends are simply responsible, serious students. As far as the "Weed College" reputation goes, one spends too much time on school work to smoke all the time. I think that reputation comes from the openness that comes with the Honor Principle. Because people are frank about their drug use (and therefore more safe about it), we get an unfair reputation.

Lisa

The first one is for the majority not. Most Reedies do not do a lot of drugs, and there is variance in the amount of liberalness among students, and some students do not fall under the "hippy" category. The second one is more accurate; more Reedies have trouble being social successfully.

Tara

Somewhat. There's definitely a lot of drug use but it's mostly centered around Renn Fayre. There are also plenty of Reedies who abstain from drug use, and it's cool and I don't think they feel like they are treated differently because of it. Love thou fellow Reedie. As far as the suicide rate thing goes, I have no idea where that came from. I know that Reedies are stressed out quite a lot, and are worked to the bone, but we have pretty strong support from faculty, friends, and counseling center. Reedies are definitely nerds, and a lot of them are quite awkward. Sometimes it's frightening...but mostly its awesome. Sometimes awkwardness can be misconstrued as pretentious...and I think that's our problem.

Chelsea

all of these stereotypes have some basis in reality, but obviously not every reedie will conform to them, and it would be quite difficult to find one that fit every one. reedies are individuals, they're just individuals who happen to be similar in many ways. and it might be worth mentioning that some freshmen who don't find that any of these stereotypes fit them end up transferring.

Ryan

More times than not.

Torry

Yes.

Jesse

If it's a Friday night- a lot of people are high, which tends to make them nicer, thus it seems that during school hours less are. For the most part people will not make eye contact with you, let alone smile. This is true. Everyone is not in the library all the time- although everyone seems to go at least once a day, and most people have not actually had sex in it. Finally, as time goes on the more unintelligent folk find their way to our fair campus.

Terry

The idea that Reedies are always wrapped up in academia and have a penchant for drugs are fairly accurate. The former most certainly, though the intent on learning extends far beyond the classroom. Drug use is no more common than at many state universities, but the drugs are often more experimental and more out in the open due to the relatively relaxed drug and alcohol policy. The inaccurate perception stemming from these stereotypes is that one cannot be a Reedie without doing homework all the time and experimenting with hard drugs. You definitely can still be a Reed student, but you will be in an environment where these things are common. As for craziness and cynicism, Reed draws all types of people. At Reed, you can experience insanity, pessimism, dullness, hopefulness... all the ten thousand myriad things.

stef

to a certain extent.

Jennifer

For the most part, these stereotypes are true. Of course, you will find students who are not socially awkward. There are some Christians, libertarians, and not well-off financially. We may even have a Republican!

Aline

Smell one and find out.

Wells

By and large, no. Perhaps the most accurate would be that we spend an inordinate amount of time in the library - our workload is fairly intense, but I would not say that it is unmanageable. I think that I lead a fairly balanced, albeit tightly scheduled existence. As for the rest of them, there are certainly a core group of very visible students that fulfill some or all of those stereotypes, but they are in the minority. We have a fairly diverse group of students at Reed, and I find it hard to pigeonhole most of them into the typical Reedie stereotype.

Jesse

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.