<p>Any parents out there with kids at Reed??? I’d like to hear your thoughts on the school and if your student found it as intense as it’s rep.</p>
<p>* your student found it as intense as it’s rep.*</p>
<p>Yes pretty much, particulary students in the sciences find it very intense-they love it or they transfer out or they take a year off to catch their breath as my daughter did. She is headed back for her senior year in a couple weeks- she loves it but it is as intense as advertised.</p>
<p>Not a Reed parent but know lots of Reed students. Yes, it is intense and yes, they tend to love it or they take time off/transfer. </p>
<p>Had dinner recently with about 15 Reedies and the conversation was similar to that at faculty parties I remember from when H taught at an ivy. These extremely well-read kids live and breathe ideas and so it works for those who want that. I also know Reed parents who worry about the stress, but also tell you how much their kids love Reed.</p>
<p>My D likes Reed very much. Yes, it is highly academic. However, one of the things she likes most is that she does not automatically receive grades. (We do get her GPA at the end of each semester (because our car insurance requires a 3.0 or better).) She receives extensive careful comments on her papers. This lack of grading can lead to some surprises for some students, however; Emeraldkity4 has written about that in the past.</p>
<p>Reed has several redeeming features beyond the lack of grading. It is a small campus and most students at least vaguely know each other; ALL freshlings take the same Humanities 110 course (think old-fashioned “Fundamentals of Western Civ”) and thus have a common framework for later coursework, both in terms of the conference style and in terms of academic background. (I had the pleasure of listening to two Reedies discuss Roman history (and the Coliseum) while in Italy last summer; they are indeed well-versed.) </p>
<p>The smallness of the campus opens up opportunities for students to participate in ECs; for example, a friend of my daughter’s is an economics major but can still participate in the theater because it’s not monopolized by theater majors.</p>
<p>Finally, the Reed admissions office has avoided the common trap of taking the “best-on-paper” students and takes interesting and <em>interested</em> students. While many students at Reed were “best-in-show”, many are only now beginning to blossom. (Reed refers to this as “quirky.”)</p>
<p>My son loves the campus and the academic environment and will most likely apply ED. Did any of you kids do a semester abroad? If so, how did it work doing it their sophomore year?</p>
<p>my daughter knew one girl who took a semester off to study in her field- twasnt * abroad* though I think it was in Vermont 
( however with working her butt off she was able to graduate on time- from what I have seen- it isn’t that easy to take time off and study abroad- I have seen many students do that in the summer however)</p>
<p>If student is interested in studying abroad during the shcool year- you might want to ask at Reed LJ- I know it has been discussed before- but I didn’t see it in memories
<a href=“http://www.livejournal.com/community/reedlj/[/url]”>http://www.livejournal.com/community/reedlj/</a></p>
<p>Sorry, but also do you know the stats on the rate of acceptances from ED?</p>