2026–27 Common App cycle · Portland, OR

Reed College supplemental essays

1 prompt, 1 required, about 500 words in total. Below: each prompt, what it is really asking, where drafts go wrong, and the shape of an answer that works.

1prompt · 1 required
500words, all prompts at max
31%admit rate · Selective
2026–27current cycle
Check your Reed College drafts against these prompts →

Free, no card. Paste a draft and Admitify reads it line by line against the prompt. It never writes for you.

The prompts, one by one

  1. Paideia teaching essay200-500 words · Community

    “For one week at the end of January, Reed students upend the traditional classroom hierarchy and teach classes about any topic they love, academic or otherwise. This week is known as Paideia after the Greek term signifying "education" – the complete education of mind, body and spirit. What would you teach that would contribute to the Reed community?”

    What it's really asking

    Two things at once: which community actually shaped how you think, and what you will bring to Reed College because of it. The second half is where most drafts stop short.

    Where drafts go wrong

    Describing the community instead of your role in it, or choosing the one that sounds impressive rather than the one that changed you. "Diversity" as an abstraction, with no scene.

    The shape of a strong answer

    Pick a community you can describe with a scene, not a label. Show one moment where it taught you something or asked something of you. Spend the last third on what that means you'll do at Reed College: a specific contribution, not "bring my perspective."

Every US applicant also writes the Common App personal statement: 650 words, seven prompts. Don't repeat it here; the supplements are for what the statement didn't show.

A self-check before you submit

Cover the school name and read the essay. Then cover your name and read it again. It should fail the first test (it only makes sense for Reed College) and pass the second (only you could have written it). If it passes the first test, it's a brochure. If it fails the second, it's a template.

Run your draft through Admitify, free →

Other schools' prompts

Prompts verified September 2026 against Reed College's published application. Admission facts and requirements for Reed College are on its university page. Spotted a change? Tell us.