Reed College, Portland, Courses, Rankings, Admission Criteria, Fees & Scholarships

Popular Courses and Fees at Reed College 2027

Reed College Fees for Indian Students follow a single flat tuition of USD 71,770 per year across every undergraduate major, with a mandatory four-year residency and a compulsory senior thesis in the final year. All Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Music programmes run four years on the Portland campus and are taught entirely in English. The single graduate offering, a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, runs part-time.

Top 5 Undergraduate Programmes at Reed College 2027

The five programmes below reflect the majors most frequently declared by Reed undergraduates and the pathways Indian applicants pursue most often. Total cost equals the annual tuition and fees of USD 71,770 multiplied by the four-year duration.

[Source: Reed College Business Office 2026-27 rate card]

Insider note: Indian undergraduates at Reed most often declare Psychology, Biology, Economics, and Computer Science. The mandatory senior thesis pushes many Reedies into PhD tracks, and Reed places among the top US colleges for the per-capita production of future doctorates.

Read More: Reed College Fees and Programs Guide

Reed College Admission 2027

Reed College Admission for Indian Students runs on a single Fall (August) intake with four decision rounds. The Common Application or Coalition Application must be filed by the round’s deadline together with school reports and two teacher recommendations.

Planning note: Reed is need-aware for international applicants, so filing a strong CSS Profile with the January deadline is treated as part of the admission decision. Indian applicants who defer their aid request risk losing scholarship consideration at the shortlist stage.

Read More: Reed College Admissions Guide for Indian Students

Reed College Admission Requirements for Indian Applicants 2027

Reed College Admission Requirements for Indian Students centre on academic rigour in Class 11 and 12, English-language evidence, and a strong writing supplement.

• Academic: Class 12 completion with 85% aggregate (CBSE, ISC, or state board) or CGPA 8.5/10 in an IB Diploma is the recommended benchmark; the average admitted student holds a 3.9 GPA equivalent to 90%.
• English proficiency: TOEFL iBT 110, IELTS 7.0, or Duolingo English Test 145 average scores; testing is optional for applicants from English-medium schools.
• Standardised tests: SAT and ACT are test-blind, meaning scores will not be considered even if submitted.
• Application file: Common or Coalition Application, Reed writing supplement, two teacher evaluations from different academic disciplines, official Class 10 and 12 transcripts.

Key insight: Reed does not require or accept SAT scores, so Indian applicants should invest that preparation time in a strong personal essay and the Reed-specific writing supplement, which admission officers weigh heavily.

Reed College Acceptance Rate 2027

Reed College Acceptance Rate sits at 36% (estimated) for recent cycles, with the Class of 2029 intake tightening to roughly 29% against about 9,600 applications. Reed does not publish an official annual admit rate, so the figure is a Collegedunia estimate derived from third-party admission data.

Indian applicants compete in a shrinking global pool as Reed’s international demand rises after the launch of the continental full-tuition scholarships. Application volume from Asia has moved the effective admit rate for international candidates below the overall figure.

Reality check: The Reed College acceptance rate for Indian applicants is likely lower than the 36% headline because the international pool is need-aware and self-selecting. A Class 12 aggregate near 90% plus a distinctive writing supplement lifts a strong candidate above the tightening cut-off.

Read More: Reed College Acceptance Rate

Reed College Fees and Cost of Living for Indian Students 2027

Reed College Fees for Indian Students total USD 91,048 (INR 86.05 lakh) per year on the published 2026-27 sticker price, covering tuition, fees, room, board, books, and personal expenses. Indian students admitted with financial aid pay a net average of USD 36,993 (INR 34.96 lakh) per year after grants.

Reed College Tuition Fees for Indian Students 2027

The 2026-27 published rates apply to every undergraduate programme with no faculty-based differential.

[Source: Reed College Admission and Aid, 2026-27 Cost of Attendance]

Monthly Cost of Living in Portland for Indian Students

Reed guarantees on-campus housing to first-year and second-year students; upperclass students who move off campus in the Eastmoreland neighbourhood face the following typical monthly outlay.

[Source: Collegedunia Portland cost-of-living estimate 2026]

Insider note: Portland rents run 20% below Seattle and 40% below the San Francisco Bay Area, and TriMet’s zone-free single-fare bus network (one flat fare across the metro) keeps commuting cheap for off-campus Reedies.

Read More: Cost of Living in USA for Indian Students

Reed College Campus, Facilities and Student Life

Reed occupies a 116-acre campus in the Eastmoreland neighbourhood of southeast Portland, Oregon, roughly 15 minutes by TriMet bus from downtown.

• Housing: On-campus residency is guaranteed for the first two years across 21 residence halls; roughly two-thirds of the student body lives on campus, with off-campus rents averaging USD 1,100 per month.
• Signature facility: The Reed Research Reactor is the only nuclear reactor in the world run entirely by undergraduates, with student operators licensed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
• Libraries and labs: The Hauser Memorial Library holds 750,000 volumes and every science major gets an assigned lab bench for the senior thesis.
• Indian community: Roughly 12% of Reed students are international from 49 countries, with active South Asian and international student unions running Diwali and cultural nights each term.

What Indian students say: Reedies value the small conference-style classes and the honour principle that governs both academic work and residence life; incoming Indian students consistently flag Portland’s rain-heavy winters and the lack of Greek life as adjustments worth planning for.

Reed College Scholarships 2027

Reed College Scholarships for Indian Students are exclusively need-based; the college offers no merit or athletic awards but funds 100% of demonstrated need for every admitted international student.

[Source: Reed College Admission and Aid, International Applicants page 2026]

Insider note: Reed’s need-aware admission policy for international candidates means the CSS Profile is read alongside the application. Over 100 international students received full scholarships across the last three cycles, and the two-per-continent programme guarantees at least two seats for Asian applicants each year.

Read More: Reed College Scholarships Guide

Reed College Rankings 2027

Reed College Ranking for Indian Students is strongest on the US News Best Colleges list, where the college holds #60 among National Liberal Arts Colleges 2027 and #24 for Best Undergraduate Teaching. Reed has publicly opted out of the US News data survey since 1995, and QS and THE do not publish separate ranks for standalone US liberal arts colleges.

[Source: US News, Princeton Review, QS, Collegedunia Study Abroad]

As per the Princeton Review 2027 edition, Reed College also leads the national ranking for "Students Study the Most" and features in the top 10 for "Most Politically Active Students".

Key insight: Reed’s absence from QS World does not restrict F-1 visa eligibility, and the US News Liberal Arts rank of #60 plus its documented PhD-production record signals employer and graduate-school recognition well above its aggregate world rank.

Read More: Reed College Rankings Analysis

Reed College Placements and Career Outcomes 2027

Reed College Placements for Indian Students centre on graduate-school pipelines rather than corporate campus placement, with over 60% of alumni enrolling in a master’s or doctoral programme within five years.

• Median starting salary: USD 55,000 (INR 51.98 lakh) per year for the graduating class (market median for private liberal arts colleges).
• Doctorate production: Reed ranks in the top 5 US colleges per capita for graduates who earn a PhD, especially in Chemistry, Physics, and Life Sciences.
• Recruiter profile: Top hiring sectors include research institutes, technology firms in the Pacific Northwest, publishing houses, and consulting; specific recruiter lists are not officially disclosed.
• Career support: The Center for Life Beyond Reed runs one-to-one advising, alumni mentoring, and an internship subsidy fund open to international students.
• Post-study work: Non-STEM majors qualify for 12 months of OPT; Computer Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math majors qualify for the additional 24-month STEM OPT extension.

Insider note: Indian graduates most often move into US graduate schools directly from Reed, using the OPT window as a research assistantship bridge before a PhD offer, rather than pursuing large-employer campus recruiting.

Reed College vs Peer Universities

Reed College competes with a small set of top-tier US liberal arts colleges that share the same seminar-based teaching, thesis requirement, and strong PhD placement.

Reed stands out for its Princeton Review #1 Best Classroom Experience rank held for over a decade and for the Reed Research Reactor. The 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio and the honour principle together produce a research-heavy undergraduate model that Indian applicants targeting a PhD pathway often prioritise over pure prestige.

Reed College is the right fit for the Indian applicant who wants a discussion-based classroom, a thesis-anchored degree, and a clear PhD pipeline, and who can defend a total four-year sticker cost near INR 344 lakh against a US liberal-arts median starting salary of about INR 52 lakh. The full-tuition continental scholarships and the STEM OPT extension for science majors make the ROI defensible for aided admits pursuing F-1 study in the USA.

It is not the right fit for a candidate who wants Greek life, big-university athletics, or direct-to-industry corporate placements out of undergrad. Applicants with those priorities should look at a larger research university such as the University of Southern California or a Big Ten campus with structured on-campus recruiting.