<p>I know, it’s the weirdest combination in the history of college decisions. Please help.</p>
<p>Very detailed opening post…</p>
<p>How about you give us some more to work with, maybe?</p>
<p>Yeah, as you said, those two colleges have almost nothing in common. It depends on what you are looking for in a college. I would personally pick Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Reed who? wherezat?</p>
<p>Reed is in Portland, OR, probably most well-known for this:</p>
<p>[REED</a> COLLEGE PHD PRODUCTIVITY](<a href=“http://web.reed.edu/ir/phd.html]REED”>Doctoral Degree Productivity - Institutional Research - Reed College)</p>
<p>[Reed</a> College - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_College]Reed”>Reed College - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>From your other posts I see that you also applied to Bard, so among those three, Vandy’s the outlier. Something to consider - Reed’s got fewer than 1,500 students. Would it be harder to break in there socially as a transfer than at Vandy, which is large enough that students are constantly meeting new peers who they’ve not seen before?</p>
<p>You know how crazy this choice is, so you need to explain what attracted you to each school.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt actually isn’t the outlier. I applied to a lot of schools, these are just the two I liked the most. </p>
<p>I like Reed academically, no, LOVE Reed academically–but and man, this sounds shallow–I don’t think I can “deal” with Reedies. I don’t know if I’ll like all the offbeat students.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt, while not similar to Reed academically, IS a good school and does have good departments in what I’m looking to study. Plus…If I wake up one morning and decide I don’t want to be an academic, I figure I’m not screwed.</p>
<p>^^^ Hey, that works for me! If it’s of any help, I have a son who’s a rising HS junior, and I’m thinking about colleges he may want to consider. I like Vandy academically, no, LOVE Vandy academically–but, wait for the shallowness, 
--I don’t know if he can “deal” with the preppiness and (relative) conservatism. (I think I can get away with that as an alumnus of Wake Forest, aka “Vandy Lite.”) But I think that Vanderbilt is one of the rising stars in American higher ed. I like the new Commons, like the blend of liberal arts, tech, performing arts, and medical, and it’s a great school of a manageable size at which he could continue his love of marching band. So I’m a Vandy fan, maybe just a bit more than Reed (and a heck of a lot more than Bard).</p>
<p>Does it have to be between Reed and Vanderbilt? What about a choice that is somewhere between the two, giving you the best of both? I’m sure there are others that would fit the bill, but Rice comes to mind.</p>
<p>I didn’t apply to Rice. :(</p>
<p>If you don’t think you can deal with the people at Reed, I would pick Vanderbilt. Either place you go you are going to get an awesome education. You have to decide on fit.</p>
<p>Def Vandy. Sure you could probably find a niche at Reed, but I think part of what makes ones college experience is the people
they’re around. I’m sure you can still find a fantastic academic experience</p>
<p>I would say definitely Reed College.</p>
<p>Well Reed is in Portland, Oregon and Vanderbilt is in the … deep south.</p>
<p>Also they have different types of people at each. So decide where you want to live and which you actually fit.</p>
<p>Well, re: Vandy being in the deep south, I am FROM the deep south so that’s another thing. It’s super close to home. I don’t think I’d fit in with the super artificial sorority/fraternity crowd, but I mean, there’s bound to be people I like there.</p>