Reed College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Portland, Oregon · Private nonprofit · Open access · CDS 2024-2025
Reed College is a private nonprofit university in Portland, Oregon that admits about 95% of applicants, making it a open access school. The average family pays about $36,371 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Biology, General and Mechanical Engineering, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. About 80% of students graduate within six years. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 2.0 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Reed College is a private institution located in Portland, Oregon. For the most recent reporting cycle, Reed College admits the majority of qualified applicants, with an overall admission rate of 95%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1277 and an ACT composite around 29. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $36,371 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Reed College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Reed College?
Reed College has a broadly accessible admissions profile, and most students who complete a standard college-prep curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or higher are competitive for admission. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
What does Reed College weight in admissions?
Reed College reports the following factor importance in its Common Data Set (2024-2025). These are the criteria the admissions committee weighs when reviewing applications.
- • Rigor of secondary school record
- • Academic GPA
- • Class rank
- • Application essay
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Talent/ability
- • Volunteer work
- • Work experience
- • Standardized test scores
- • Recommendations
- • Interview
- • Character/personal qualities
- • First generation status
- • Geographical residence
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
- • Level of applicant's interest
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • State residency
SAT and ACT scores Reed College typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 570–663, with an EBRW midpoint near 643. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 25–30. Many applicants here submit scores; even slightly below the average can be competitive when combined with a strong GPA and curriculum.
| 25th percentile | 1168 |
| 50th percentile | 1300 |
| 75th percentile | 1370 |
| % submitting SAT | 6% |
| 25th percentile | 25 |
| 50th percentile | 26 |
| 75th percentile | 31 |
| % submitting ACT | 3% |
- • Test-optional: Standardized test scores are not required, but may be submitted and considered.
- • Policy detail: Considered if submitted
How much does Reed College actually cost?
Published tuition is $54,900 for in-state students and $54,900 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $16,600 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $36,371 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 19% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $58,800 |
| Room and board | $18,000 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $36,371 |
| Application fee | $0 |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Reed College
| Regular deadline | 2025-01-15 |
| Notification date | 2025-10-01 |
| Reply deadline | 2025-05-01 |
| Offers Early Action | Yes |
| EA deadline | 2024-12-01 |
Will my child graduate from Reed College?
Retention and graduation rates are the most overlooked numbers in college planning, but they predict actual outcomes far better than acceptance rate. They tell you whether admitted students stay and finish on time.
Most popular majors at Reed College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Reed College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Biology, General and Mechanical Engineering. Across all programs, Reed College confers roughly 732 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing program report a median income of about $103,904 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 364 | $103,904 |
| Biology, General | 98 | $53,076 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 54 | $91,884 |
| Marketing | 51 | $68,130 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 46 | $95,949 |
| Psychology, General | 45 | $62,399 |
| Computer Science | 38 | $136,265 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 36 | $58,391 |
Is Reed College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Reed College disclosed 6 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 2.0 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 0 violent offenses and 4 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
What is campus life like at Reed College?
About 53% of undergraduates at Reed College live in campus housing, making it a largely residential campus. Residential rate and Greek participation shape day-to-day social life and are worth weighing alongside academics and cost.
Other colleges in Oregon parents ask about
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Reed College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Reed College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Reed College
What GPA do I need for Reed College?
Reed College has a broadly accessible admissions profile, and most students who complete a standard college-prep curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or higher are competitive for admission.
What SAT or ACT score does Reed College typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 570–663, with an EBRW midpoint near 643. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 25–30.
How much does Reed College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Reed College after grants and scholarships is $36,371 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Reed College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Reed College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at Reed College?
Reed College accepts about 95% of applicants out of roughly 8,289 who apply each year. It admits the majority of qualified applicants.
Is Reed College test-optional?
Yes. Reed College is test-optional, so SAT and ACT scores are not required, but strong scores can still be submitted and will be considered.
What is the graduation rate at Reed College?
About 80% of students at Reed College graduate within six years. 88% of freshmen return for sophomore year. Graduation rate predicts real outcomes better than acceptance rate.
What does Reed College look for in applicants?
Reed College rates course rigor and GPA as "very important" in its Common Data Set. These are the factors the admissions committee weighs most heavily when reviewing an application.
Is Reed College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Reed College is a private nonprofit institution located in Portland, Oregon.
What are the most popular majors at Reed College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Reed College by annual graduates are Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Biology, General and Mechanical Engineering. The school awards about 732 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Reed College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Reed College reported 6 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 2.0 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
What is campus life like at Reed College?
At Reed College, 53% of undergraduates live on campus, according to its most recent Common Data Set.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Reed College, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.