Will I fit in at Reed?

mackinaw
Tue, 04 Nov 2014 03:59:50 +0000

My socially awkward son went to UChicago but he would have fit in well at Reed, my alma mater. In some ways he’s still socially awkward, but he’s managed quite well to establish an interesting career and a good social life because he learned things in college and he followed his interests and let them guide him to interesting job and career opportunities.

Based on my experience and observation, in college you find people with common interests, whether because you frequently interact a lot with them in class/labs/dorms/library or because you take up activities (music, hiking, frisbee, gaming, or whatever) and meet people with similar interests.

I agree with the comment above that you shouldn’t freak out about social interactions. IMHO you should think more about the programs, courses of study, faculty, and opportunities to learn both in and out of class. (Most of it will happen out of class, since there are 168 hours in a week and you will only be in class 15-20 hours, depending on lab time.)