Reed College supplemental essays
Reed College asks for one supplemental essay in 2026-27. Common App. Personal statement required (250-650 words).
That is one supplement plus the Common App personal statement: two pieces of writing in all. Early Decision closes November 1, 2026, Early Action closes November 1, 2026 and Early Decision II closes January 15, 2027, with the rest in the table below. The prompts carry this limit: 500 words. Every Reed College prompt is printed on this page in full, with its word limit and who has to answer it.
Deadlines
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Early Decision | November 1, 2026 |
| Early Action | November 1, 2026 |
| Early Decision II | January 15, 2027 |
| Regular Decision | January 15, 2027 |
Checked against www.reed.edu/admission-aid/how-to-apply/first-year.html. Confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.
The essays, 2026-27
Required · 500 words
Why Reed?
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Your Reed College checklist
One supplement, required. The first deadline, Early Decision, is November 1, 2026.
- Common App personal statementRequired250-650 words
- SupplementRequired500 words
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Getting into Reed College
Reed College admits 24.6% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 1290-1520 on the SAT and 30-34 on the ACT.
About 1 in 4 applicants are admitted, at a college of 1,320 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 1290 | 1420 | 1520 |
| SAT reading and writing | 680 | 730 | 750 |
| SAT math | 610 | 690 | 770 |
| ACT composite | 30 | 33 | 34 |
What SAT score do you need for Reed College?
A 1520 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1420 at their midpoint, and a 1290 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 30, 33 and 34. A quarter of an enrolled class scoring under the 25th percentile is not a rounding error, so a score below the range is a reason to strengthen the rest of the application rather than a reason not to apply.
US Department of Education, College Scorecard (2026-09-17). Percentiles describe students who enrolled, not everyone admitted. SAT totals are the reading and math bands added together, which is how every source in this market reports them and is an approximation of about 10 to 20 points, because the two sections are correlated.
- What SAT score do you need for Reed College?
- Reed College sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 1290-1520 on the SAT: a 1290 sits at the 25th percentile, 1420 at the median and 1520 at the 75th. A score at or above 1520 is a clear strength in the application; below 1290 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures Reed College reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for Reed College?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 30-34 on the ACT, with a composite of 33 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 30. Reported by Reed College to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for Reed College?
- The honest answer is that the federal data behind this page does not contain one. Colleges report their admit rate and their enrolled students' test scores to the Department of Education; they do not report a GPA distribution, so any site quoting an exact average GPA for Reed College is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that Reed College admits 24.6% of applicants, and the more selective a college is, the closer to the top of the class its admitted students sit and the more the strength of your course load counts alongside the number itself.
- How hard is it to get into Reed College?
- Reed College admits 24.6% of the people who apply, which is about 1 in 4 applicants. Numbers inside the reported range put you in a real position here, and the application itself decides the rest.
What Reed College costs after grant aid, by family income, from the same federal data.
Sort your whole college list into reaches, targets and likelies, or find colleges that fit your GPA and test scores. Both are free and neither needs an account.
Reed College essay questions, answered
- Does Reed College have supplemental essays?
- Yes. Reed College asks for one supplemental essay in 2026-27. Every prompt is printed in full on this page. Word limits: 500 words.
- How many essays do you write for Reed College in 2026-27?
- One supplement, plus the Common App personal statement.
Schools with similar admit rates
Reed College admits 24.6% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: Skidmore College (21.1%), Wake Forest University (21.7%), University of Florida (24.2%), Spelman College (24.9%), Pitzer College (25.2%), Lehigh University (25.9%).