Reed College: Acceptance Rate and Admissions Statistics

Reed College is a private liberal arts college with an acceptance rate of 39.5%. Located in a suburban area 15 miles from downtown Portland, Oregon, Reed often makes the list of the country's best liberal arts colleges. For its strengths in the liberal arts and sciences, Reed was awarded a chapter of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. Reed consistently ranks highly for the number of students who go on to earn PhDs, and has an impressive number of Rhodes scholars. The Reed faculty takes pride in teaching, and the college can boast of a 9-to-1 student/faculty ratio and an average class size of 15.

Considering applying to Reed College? Here are the admissions statistics you should know, including average SAT/ACT scores and GPAs of admitted students.

Acceptance Rate

During the 2018-19 admissions cycle, Reed College had an acceptance rate of 39.5%. This means that for every 100 students who applied, 39 students were admitted, making Reed's admissions process competitive.

SAT Scores and Requirements

Reed College requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. During the 2018-19 admissions cycle, 70% of admitted students submitted SAT scores.

This admissions data tells us that most of Reed's admitted students fall within the top 20% nationally on the SAT. For the evidence-based reading and writing section, 50% of students admitted to Reed scored between 670 and 750, while 25% scored below 670 and 25% scored above 750. On the math section, 50% of admitted students scored between 655 and 770, while 25% scored below 655 and 25% scored above 770. Applicants with a composite SAT score of 1520 or higher will have particularly competitive chances at Reed.

Requirements

Reed does not require the SAT writing section. Note that Reed participates in the scorechoice program, which means that the admissions office will consider your highest score from each individual section across all SAT test dates. At Reed, SAT Subject tests are optional.

ACT Scores and Requirements

Reed requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. During the 2018-19 admissions cycle, 42% of admitted students submitted ACT scores.

This admissions data tells us that most of Reed's admitted students fall within the top 7% nationally on the ACT. The middle 50% of students admitted to Reed received a composite ACT score between 30 and 34, while 25% scored above 34 and 25% scored below 30.

Requirements

Note that Reed does not superscore ACT results; your highest composite ACT score will be considered. Reed does not require the ACT writing section.

GPA

In 2019, the average high school GPA of Reed College's incoming freshmen class was 4.0. This data suggests that most successful applicants to Reed have primarily A grades.

Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph

The admissions data in the graph is self-reported by applicants to Reed College. GPAs are unweighted. Find out how you compare to accepted students, see the real-time graph, and calculate your chances of getting in with a free Cappex account.

Admissions Chances

Reed College has a highly competitive admissions pool with a low acceptance rate and high average SAT/ACT scores. However, Reed has a holistic admissions process involving other factors beyond your grades and test scores. A strong application essay and glowing letters of recommendation can strengthen your application, as can participation in meaningful extracurricular activities and a rigorous course schedule. You can further improve your chances by writing a convincing supplemental essay and by participating in an optional interview. Students with particularly compelling stories or achievements can still receive serious consideration even if their grades and test scores are outside Reed's average range.

In the scattergram above, the blue and green dots represent accepted students. You can see that the majority of successful applicants had high school GPAs in the "A" range, combined SAT scores of 1300 or higher, and ACT composite scores of 28 or better.

If You Like Reed College, You May Also Like These Schools

• Amherst
• Bowdoin
• Carleton
• Claremont McKenna
• Davidson
• Grinnell
• Haverford
• Middlebury
• Pomona
• Swarthmore
• Vassar
• Washington and Lee
• Wellesley
• Wesleyan
• Williams

All admissions data has been sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics and Reed College Undergraduate Admissions Office.