<p>Reed refuses to supply the information needed for rankings.</p>
<p>My D is at Reed and adores it. If there are questions unanswered here, I’m happy to answer them directly or by PM, although you should all be aware that I don’t give out a lot of identifying information directly.</p>
<p>Reed is extremely demanding academically. My D works at least as hard as my S (who is at MIT). Reed has a high rate of noncompletion for several reasons I’ve identified: a) they require a thesis of ALL students in every department, b) they require ALL students to pass a qualifying exam before entering their thesis year, c) they have hard courses and no grade inflation (the average undergrad GPA is 2.7) (half of all students never ask to see their grades, BTW), d) they do not guarantee housing on campus after freshman year, e) they take risks on “unconventional” learners, f) they’re expensive.</p>
<p>They are indeed a small campus, which is both a plus and a minus. Professors know their students well (my D got an email from a prof asking if she could cat sit this summer; the prof mentioned my D’s love of cats in it); opportunities for ECs abound. OTOH, some courses simply aren’t offered every year, and there aren’t many weird electives, unless a faculty member is interested.</p>
<p>Reed (IMHO) is one of the last bastions of intellectualism for its own sake. They do not offer much in the way of practical majors, which may be one reason so many students go on to graduate school. My D has commented on how many of her classmates are the children of university professors.</p>