Reed College
Private College in Portland, OR. Six-year graduation rate 71%. Median 10-year earnings $62,927.
A decade after enrolling, the median Reed College student earns $62,927 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. The six-year graduation rate of 72% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Median debt at graduation is $21,500, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.34 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Reed College admits just 25% of applicants, placing it among the most selective undergraduate institutions in the country. The applicant pool runs to 9,431, typical for a school of this reach. Only 13% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. Read the score bands below as the middle 50% of submitted scores, not a threshold to clear.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 680–750 | 158 (52%) |
| SAT Math | 610–770 | |
| ACT Composite | 30–34 | 65 (21%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Reed College →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 72% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. First-year retention of 88% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. Transfer-out runs to 21% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. The 9:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,407 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay $30,953 a year on average after aid, a premium price that the earnings data has to justify. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $12,674 at the $0–30k band to $46,711 at $110k+. About 56% get grants averaging $49,728, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 41% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 349 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $12,674 |
| $30–48k | $12,514 |
| $48–75k | $14,513 |
| $75–110k | $23,421 |
| $110k+ | $46,711 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 572 of these 1,407 students, totalling $3,428,664 — an average of $5,994 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Multnomah County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)