<p>Reed is a unique and exciting college experience. Discuss the reasons that you believe Reed would be an appropriate place to continue your education (200 words minimum, 500 words maximum).</p>
<pre><code>I would like to attend Reed because I’m President John Tyler, and apparently, I cannot die. Known as “His Accidency” by his detractors, John Tyler (i.e. me, at least in a metaphorically resonant sense) became the first President who entered the office on account of the death of his presidential predecessor. Though John Tyler purportedly died in 1862, this claim must be false on account of the fact that I am alive, well, and currently operating in the same fashion John Tyler did in his lifetime.
In substantially less evocative terms: I’d like to be more than just a product of circumstances. I’d appreciate the opportunity to cast aside all similarities to John Tyler. To have a better understanding of this sentiment, let’s look deeper into his presidency.
President John Tyler spent most of his presidency operating by himself in much the same way I do with regard to my inattentive public school professors. When he made poor policy decisions, he faced claims of his failure, the same way my soulless grades tell me when I’ve succeeded or failed: without ever explaining why. Whether or not he succeeded came down to one variable: luck. And from his luck, he never learned a damn thing.
This remains the sole reason why I must attend Reed. I don’t want my life, like John Tyler’s, to be determined by the circumstances around myself. I’d like to attend the only school I know of that will allow me to master my circumstances.
If John Tyler had attended a hypothetical Reed that existed in the 19th century, I believe his life would have changed for the better. Reed doesn’t just educate students by bombarding them with knowledge, Reed forces students to deliberately master and apply the knowledge they’re given in the form of their senior thesis. Reed won’t allow my education to be another check mark on a list of graduating students, because your college wants me to be an engaged student who doesn’t just learn for a grade.
This ties into the way Reed teaches in the first place. Students rarely ever see their grades, what they receive are written evaluations that explain the nature of their academic strengths and weaknesses, and how to play off of them to improve academically. This system offers me the unique chance to learn in a way that I believe a student like myself needs. My grades shouldn’t be a single letter, I want my evaluations to teach me to willfully grow as an intellectual who can struggle to improve where he’s lacking, and continue to rely on what makes me strong.
That’s why I don’t want to make the same mistake made during my absurd, metaphorical previous lifetime. I won’t allow myself to stumble through my whole life with no idea of what I’m doing. Unlike John Tyler, I want to make important life decisions as an engaged master of my circumstances. John Tyler is dead, and it’s time for a turning point.
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