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College

Occidental College

  • A
    Overall Grade
  • 4 Year
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • 428 reviews
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A
Overall Niche Grade
How are grades calculated?
  1. Academics
    A
  2. Value
    A
  3. Diversity
    A+
  4. Campus
    B+
  5. Athletics
    B-
  6. Party Scene
    B
  7. Professors
    A
  8. Location
    A-
  9. Dorms
    B-
  10. Campus Food
    A+
  11. Student Life
    A-
  12. Safety
    C
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About Occidental College...
Athletic Division
NCAA Division III (with football)
Athletic Conference
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Address
1600 Campus Rd
Los Angeles, CA 90041
Website
oxy.edu
From Occidental College

Occidental College's beautiful campus in Los Angeles serves as a springboard for putting theory into practice. In more than 40 majors and minors, students benefit from a small-classroom environment with stimulating faculty. Our distinctive approach offers a chance to explore new ideas, and the academic rigor on campus is enhanced by internships and partnerships across L.A. Consciously collaborative, our students seek to embrace difference and make a difference in the world. Occidental is reinventing the liberal arts and sciences for a new generation of problem solvers, creators, and thinkers.

Occidental College Rankings

Niche rankings are based on rigorous analysis of key statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and millions of reviews.

Admissions

Application Deadline
January 15
Acceptance Rate
42%
SAT Range
1280-1440
ACT Range
27-32
Application Fee
$65
SAT/ACT
Required
High School GPA
Considered but not required
Accepts Common App
Yes

Cost

Net Price
$33,738/ year
National
$15,523
Average cost after financial aid for students receiving grant or scholarship aid, as reported by the college.
Net Price by Household Income
  • <$30k
    $14,573/ year
  • $30-48k
    $15,559/ year
  • $49-75k
    $19,909/ year
  • $76-110k
    $29,584/ year
  • $110k+
    $42,370/ year
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Academics

Professors
A
Based on faculty accomplishments, salary, student reviews, and additional factors.
Student Faculty Ratio
9:1
Evening Degree Programs
No
89%
of students agree that professors put a lot of effort into teaching their classes.27 responses
70%
of students agree that it is easy to get the classes they want.33 responses
52%
of students agree that the workload is easy to manage.33 responses

Majors

Most Popular Majors
  • Economics
    65 Graduates
  • Biology
    52 Graduates
  • Psychology
    38 Graduates
  • International Relations
    35 Graduates
  • Cognitive Science
    30 Graduates
  • Sociology
    30 Graduates
  • Political Science and Government
    25 Graduates
  • Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
    23 Graduates
  • Environmental Science
    21 Graduates
  • Mathematics
    21 Graduates

Students

Full-Time Enrollment
1,952Undergrads
Undergrads Over 25
1%
Pell Grant
20%
Varsity Athletes
20%
Poll
What one word or phrase best describes the typical student at this school?
Based on 15 responses
Report
  • Passionate, with a lot of commitments
    40%
  • Involved
    20%
  • Always wants to be doing more
    13%
  • Homogenous
    7%
  • Liberal
    7%
  • Not very outgoing; smart in one particular field
    7%
  • Smart, passionate, drive, but shallow
    7%

Campus Life

Freshmen Live On-Campus
100%
Poll
47%
of students say that Greek life is average, and no one will treat you differently if you don't join.34 responses
Poll
63%
of students say varsity sporting events are attended, but not a huge part of campus life.40 responses
Poll
What one word or phrase best describes your school?
Based on 16 responses
Report
  • Liberal
    38%
  • A community of people who become family
    19%
  • Integrity
    19%
  • Academic
    13%
  • Demanding
    6%
  • There for you
    6%

    After College

    Median Earnings 6 Years After Graduation
    $49,700/ year
    National
    $33,028
    Graduation Rate
    84%
    National
    49%
    Employed 2 Years After Graduation
    91%
    National
    83%
    56%
    of students feel confident they will find a job in their field after graduation.18 responses
    Colleges like Occidental College
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    Occidental College Reviews

    428 reviews
    All Categories
    I just transferred to Occidental College from Wabash College—a liberal arts college in Crawfordscille, Indiana. I have nothing but good things to say about Oxy, and I’m really looking forward to finishing my undergraduate degree here!
    Start Your Review of Occidental College
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    Occidental College is one of the most underrated colleges out there. It has excellent faculty who are committed to seeing their students realize their fullest potential and succeed in whatever they are passionate in. Great facilities, beautiful campus, great location, excellent weather year-round. I have formed lifelong friendships and gained great faculty and professional mentors and I am proud to call myself an alum there. Thanks to Oxy, I was able to get connected to many great opportunities such as study abroad, and now I am a Fulbright grantee. It is definitely a very liberal campus so may be difficult for conservative students but this climate definitely challenges conservative students to clearly think through their opinions and convictions, ultimately molding everyone to be a more careful thinker, more articulate speaker and writer, and better global citizen.
    Occidental College offers stellar academics with an added emphasis on finding a job/career post-college, excellent food, and an extremely beautiful campus. The professors are generally approachable and flexible, often providing over-enrolment overrides for popular classes when asked in-person and extending deadlines during exam heavy weeks. The students here have a work hard during the weekdays, play hard during the weekends attitude; although the party scene isn't quite as enthralling as what one might find in a frat party at a bigger state university. However, smaller, more private dorm parties are in abundance at Oxy.