<p>My nephew attended Reed. He had a really tough first semester. When he met with the Dean of Students, it was recommended that he take a semester off. However, he was also told that he would be welcome to return to Reed at any time after second semester. He ended up taking a year and a half off. When he returned, there was no problem with his readmission and he was very much welcomed back by the school. He was told that his is not an uncommon circumstance. I think the fact that students can start at Reed, take time off, and then go back without any penalty or problems speaks well of the institution and probably affects the 4 year grad rate quite a bit.</p>