<p>I am a Reed grad, BA. Be warned: this place attracts people seeking their personal Great White Whale. From your personal narrative, it appears that you have endured years of effort and misfortune; and that college coursework is, for you, significant on some deep levelsnot just part of your individual intellectual and possibly career development, but a means of inhabiting and making your way through what you experience as the defining elements in your life so far. Reed often allows its students (and former students) to do this. Thus, some experience their theses as almost mystical pursuits, or drop out as a form of protest or reaction against where this private journey takes them, or neglect to attend to the formal requirements of their coursework, and thus have to leave. If you have heard skeptics at Reed deplore the climate of mental masturbation, this is probably what they are talking about. In my opinion, this is part of Reed’s attrition problem.</p>
<p>How long would it take you to get your BA at Reed, if you were to enroll there? What courses would be required, and what electives would you want to take? Could you work part-time if necessary? Would your living situation be satisfactory? (Don’t live far away from schoola drive across town at 1am to get home becomes unworkable fast.) </p>
<p>And the big question: would you be willing to go into debt to get a Reed education? Take a look at some other schools, with all these questions in mind. Would you be willing to take on more debt to attend Reed than some other, decent school? </p>
<p>If Reed emerges as the clear winner, use the reasons why you prefer it as the foundations for your Why Reed essay. Don’t concern yourself with the transcendent essay that got away. Writers engage the magic of their craft through working in it; this doesn’t happen only once. You are now different, as a person, from the way you were when you wrote it. At this point, it would be an artifact of your literary past, anyway. (And don’t day-trade with your nest egg anymore, either). </p>
<p>You describe your story as a bit of a lamentation. How do you envision that Reed would change or rechannel this motif of struggle and loss? I advise you to beware here. As you rightly observe, your twenties are almost done. You are heading into the decade in which people take their skills into the world and try to make their fortunes. Don’t be sad about thisthis juncture in your life is, in itself, a place in which you can begin to make this happen. </p>
<p>My personal opinion, if you want it, is that your experience so far has been more formative, educational in its own way, than you realize. Because of its academic requirements and institutional culture, Reed would require you to undo much of it. That would certainly be time-consuming, and would very likely engage a lot of the difficult issues of your psyche without giving you the affirmation and impetus of real-world achievement in your field. You might want to enact all this at Reed, but it wouldn’t be beneficial to you in the long run. Go somewhere that meets a reasonable number of your specifications, where you can get your BA in a year and a half, and then enter a Master’s program in writing, if that is the field you choose. Do it soon. And then get out there and use your skills to write the perfect essay that won’t get lost, to make money that won’t be taken away by chance. Use your life to make yourself happy.</p>