Reed College & Kenyon College Research

reed_kenyon.md

Reed College & Kenyon College Research

Reed College

Overview

  • Location: Portland, OR
  • Type: Private liberal arts college
  • Category: Top LAC
  • Total Enrollment: ~1,278 (Fall 2025)
  • Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 9:1
  • Average Class Size: 14.5

Admissions (Fall 2024)

  • Total Applicants: 9,431
  • Admitted: 2,321
  • Enrolled: 303
  • Acceptance Rate: 24.6%
  • Early Decision Acceptance Rate: ~40% (ED applicants are "twice as likely to gain admission")
  • Yield Rate: 13%
  • Early Round: Offers both ED I (Nov 1) and ED II (Jan 1); also offers EA
  • Testing Policy: Test-optional (neither required nor recommended)
  • Percent in Top 10% of HS Class: 51%

Academic Profile

  • SAT Middle 50%: 1310-1490 (EBRW 680-750, Math 610-770)
  • ACT Middle 50%: 30-34
  • Average GPA: 3.9 unweighted (82.6% of admitted students have 3.75+)
  • Average SAT Mean: 1,392

Demographics (First-Year 2025)

  • White: 53%
  • Asian: 16%
  • Hispanic: 11%
  • International: 11%
  • Black: 7%
  • Native American: 2%
  • Gender: 44% women, 34% men, 22% nonbinary

Financial Aid

  • Meets 100% of demonstrated need
  • Average Aid Package: $59,053
  • 60% of students receive financial aid
  • Net Price by Income:
  • $0-30,000: $13,630
  • $30,001-48,000: $13,123
  • $48,001-75,000: $19,277
  • $75,001-110,000: $26,961
  • Over $110,000: $47,974

Athletics

  • No varsity athletics -- Reed does not participate in NCAA or any intercollegiate athletic conference
  • Has club sports (basketball, rugby, soccer, Ultimate Frisbee) with volunteer coaches
  • Founded as a reaction against East Coast Ivy League model including varsity athletics

Notable

  • Highest PhD production rate per capita of any US college
  • Honor Principle governs academic and social life (no proctored exams)
  • Mandatory freshman humanities course (Hum 110)
  • Known for intellectual rigor and countercultural ethos
  • Steve Jobs attended briefly; alumni include Nobel laureates and MacArthur fellows
  • Tuition-free for Oregon/Washington families under $100K income (new program)

Sources

  • Reed IR: https://www.reed.edu/ir/admission.html
  • Reed IR Enrollment: https://www.reed.edu/ir/enrollment.html
  • Reed IR First-Year Ethnicity: https://www.reed.edu/ir/firstyearstuethnic.html
  • College Factual Net Price: https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/reed-college/paying-for-college/net-price/
  • CollegeData: https://waf.collegedata.com/college-search/reed-college/admission
  • BigFuture: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/colleges/reed-college/admissions

Kenyon College

Overview

  • Location: Gambier, OH
  • Type: Private liberal arts college
  • Category: Top LAC
  • Total Enrollment: ~1,717 (varies by source; 2,249 reported for Fall 2024 by some)
  • Average Class Size: 15
  • 98% of faculty hold PhD or terminal degree
  • 100% residential campus

Admissions (Fall 2024)

  • Total Applicants: 7,726
  • Admitted: 2,397
  • Enrolled: 439
  • Acceptance Rate: 31.0%
  • Early Decision Acceptance Rate: ~55% (estimated; 227 ED admits = 53% of class; ED comprises 40-45% of class annually)
  • Yield Rate: 18%
  • Early Round: ED I (Nov 15) and ED II (Jan 15); no EA
  • Testing Policy: Test-optional (through Fall 2026)
  • Percent in Top 10% of HS Class: 61%

Academic Profile

  • SAT Middle 50%: 1370-1473 (EBRW 680-743, Math 678-760)
  • ACT Middle 50%: 31-33
  • Average GPA: 3.9 unweighted (64% of admits have 3.75+)

Demographics

  • White: 57.7%
  • International: 9.2%
  • Hispanic: 6.3%
  • Multiracial: 5.1%
  • Asian: 4.6%
  • Black: 3.4%
  • Gender: 56.2% women, 43.8% men
  • Students from 45 US states and 53 countries
  • 33% identify as domestic students of color or international

Financial Aid

  • Meets 100% of demonstrated need for all four years
  • Average Aid Package: $59,726
  • 49% of students receive financial aid
  • Net Price by Income:
  • $0-30,000: $12,582
  • $30,001-48,000: $8,105
  • $48,001-75,000: $13,076
  • $75,001-110,000: $25,672
  • Over $110,000: $45,570

Athletics

  • NCAA Division III -- North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC)
  • 22 varsity sports (11 men's, 11 women's)
  • ~660 athletes (~29.3% of enrollment)
  • Swimming dynasty: 50+ combined NCAA D-III national championships (men's and women's)
  • Women won 25th NCAA D-III swimming title in 2024

Notable

  • Home of the Kenyon Review, founded 1939 -- one of America's most prestigious literary magazines
  • Strong creative writing program (notable alumni: E.L. Doctorow, Robert Lowell connection)
  • Paul Newman (actor) attended Kenyon
  • David Foster Wallace connections
  • 91% freshman retention rate
  • 90% of 2025 graduates employed or in grad school within 6 months

Sources

  • Kenyon CDS: https://www.kenyon.edu/offices-and-services/office-of-institutional-research/common-data-sets/
  • Kenyon in Numbers: https://www.kenyon.edu/kenyon-in-numbers/
  • CollegeData: https://waf.collegedata.com/college-search/kenyon-college/admission
  • BigFuture: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/colleges/kenyon-college/admissions
  • College Factual: https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/kenyon-college/student-life/diversity/
  • College Factual Net Price: https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/kenyon-college/paying-for-college/net-price/
  • Kenyon Athletics: https://athletics.kenyon.edu/sports/2012/7/17/GEN_0717121513.aspx?tab=quickfacts

Simulation Notes

Reed College

  • Unique: No varsity athletics at all -- athletePct and totalAthletes should be 0
  • Low yield (13%) reflects that Reed appeals to a specific niche of intellectual, nonconformist students
  • ED boost is moderate (~40% vs 24.6% overall, ~1.6x multiplier)
  • Gender distribution is unusual: 44% women, 34% men, 22% nonbinary -- for simulation purposes, using women_pct=44

Kenyon College

  • Strong ED advantage: ~55% ED rate vs 31% overall (~1.8x multiplier)
  • High athlete percentage (29.3%) -- significant hook for admissions
  • Swimming powerhouse but D-III, so athletic hooks work differently than D-I
  • 100% residential -- distinctive campus culture factor
  • Literary tradition (Kenyon Review) is a differentiating factor for essay/humanities-oriented applicants