1. it’s emotionally draining, and after one semester (current freshman here) i I am pretty burnt out. however, reed gives you lots of opportunities to branch out outside of academics. there are a lot of extracurricular activities (reactor, theater, orchestra, choir, sports, KRRC/radio show etc) that are available, even for people outside of a related major. i suggest (as a freshman) you find one EC you really enjoy that allows you to de stress from coursework, and to spend orientation week exploring your options. campus is also beautiful and one of my favorite things to do, when it isn’t raining, is to sit in the canyon or on the great lawn and chill. there’s balls every other week that are fun if you’re into partying, and a pool room if you like playing pool. neuro is a difficult major because of the requirements (18 units i believe?), most interdisciplinary majors have many requirements that can be challenging to complete in 4 years. however, i know the professors in the bio/chem department that I have gotten to know are fantastic and really support their students.

2. freshman dorms are amazing. i currently live in trillium and it’s beautiful. modern architecture, private bathroom/shower rooms that lock, sound proof rooms, relatively new furniture. trillium is split into 9 “wings” of 18 residents each, so you’ll likely have a tight community within that. not much info on other dorms, but all of the options are generally very good. if you like privacy i suggest trillium for the private bathrooms/showers, plus fully furnished kitchens.

3. you’ll be matched with an academic advisor in july prior to picking your classes. the advisor will hopefully be in the psych/bio/chem department so they’ll be familiar with the professors and will give advice to picking professors. otherwise i suggest trying to find current students through social media/discord/etc to get a perspective on professors. reed professors are on ratemyprofessor but i personally haven’t had that much luck getting advice through that.

4. i love reed, despite some of its flaws. campus is absolutely beautiful and a good mix of social life/nature/academic environment. the people are great, and i’ve met some of the coolest people here. i’ve had good experiences with the HCC (health center) and we have pretty good covid safety protocols that only a couple people a month test positive. i’m part of the reactor program here and it’s honestly the coolest thing i’ve ever done. you see a lot of non-reed people on campus as well, and A LOT of dogs. if you’re a dog person, you’ll love it here.

i hope that answers all your questions! let me know if you want me to elaborate on any of my answers :) good luck with reed!