What is all of this nonsense about Reed being "unappealing" due to its less extreme selectivity?
Just because it's not in New England, a huge attractor of New England prep school kids, and admissions rate less than 30% (though it just this year hit 31.9%) and it has kids who smoke pot (like any college doesn't?), that makes it a school that can't be considered a top 10 school?
Look at this for a second:
Reed College | Reed College Class of 2012 Competitively Selected, Diverse Group
Median ACT of 31? SAT of 1409? GPA of 4.0?
Reed is, to me, a highly competitive and thriving institution that is notorious for its intense academic standards. It's not too surprising that some students smoke to get away from all that stress, and frankly, you'll find that at any top liberal arts college. Notice, also, that Reed is listed in CCs top liberal arts forum, though it's ranked 53 by USNWR. The reason Reed's 4 year graduation rate is so low is because students are either too involved in their studies to graduate in that time or they just can't handle the work in the first place.
Reed is a very good, very difficult, and very selective top liberal arts college.