Occidental in LA? Anyone have info on it?

[Anonymous]

My ds is a junior at oxy. It was his “safety” school but he didnt get admitted to his top choices ( and he had 35-36 act, i am forgetting which as well as top grades recs and awards and was crew captain at boarding school). Admissions is a crap shoot. BUT Oxy has given him a very decent four year merit scholarship Which has turned out to be a big help. Ask me other questions-or if you have your student set up an email , we can connect them with mine

[Anonymous]

I am the pp. realized i didnt mention that ds has had a very good experience. He is pre- med and an RA. He has worked in a lab both during semesters and the summer. He does sometimes go surfing on the weekends!

[Anonymous]

We visited for an open house in September and were impressed. Campus is beautiful and the vibe of the kids was very friendly. Chair of the department my son is interested in took time to answer questions. Surrounding area was fine but not overly exciting. It’s popular with kids from our high school and those who attend like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its a beautiful campus and in a nice enough part of town.

The application form is full of questions about how you'd change the world and what you will do as a student to change the lives of others etc. It is very heavy on the volunteer service side and the campaigning for social change.

And academically it is mediocre.

You are mistaken. Oxy's application form includes only one supplemental short essay. It's a "why Oxy" question.

See below:

The prompt for Fall 2026 is: Why are you applying to Occidental? Why do you think Occidental is the right place for you to pursue your interests?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We visited for an open house in September and were impressed. Campus is beautiful and the vibe of the kids was very friendly. Chair of the department my son is interested in took time to answer questions. Surrounding area was fine but not overly exciting. It’s popular with kids from our high school and those who attend like it.

+1

[Anonymous]

I have a happy Junior there now.

DC was a strong student in high school and has good grades at Oxy. There is a significant east coast contingent. It is a very small school, the school is in Eagle Rock but the west side of campus abuts Highland Park, which is a cute neighborhood. Students really need access to a car to appreciate Los Angeles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son wanted to go there until we visited. Beautiful campus but an underwhelming tour.

We had the same experience. Seems very small and isolated. Not very exciting - especially after touring UCLA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a happy Junior there now.

DC was a strong student in high school and has good grades at Oxy. There is a significant east coast contingent. It is a very small school, the school is in Eagle Rock but the west side of campus abuts Highland Park, which is a cute neighborhood. Students really need access to a car to appreciate Los Angeles.

No you don’t.

[Anonymous]

It's extremely woke. One of the wokest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's extremely woke. One of the wokest.

So you can’t bully and call people names?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's extremely woke. One of the wokest.

So you can’t bully and call people names?

Whatever you say, geed. There's left of center and there's crazy woke. Oxy is the latter.

[Anonymous]

We didn’t get a woke vibe on our Oxy tour. My kid might have liked it more! It was hard to pinpoint any vibes tbh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its a beautiful campus and in a nice enough part of town.

The application form is full of questions about how you'd change the world and what you will do as a student to change the lives of others etc. It is very heavy on the volunteer service side and the campaigning for social change.

And academically it is mediocre.

You are mistaken. Oxy's application form includes only one supplemental short essay. It's a "why Oxy" question.

See below:

The prompt for Fall 2026 is: Why are you applying to Occidental? Why do you think Occidental is the right place for you to pursue your interests?

It had all those questions for 2025 entry. Lucky you they've gone. What a yawn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We didn’t get a woke vibe on our Oxy tour. My kid might have liked it more! It was hard to pinpoint any vibes tbh.

Uh, you need to read more. Oxy got an F from FIRE. https://www.thefire.org/colleges/occidental-college/free-speech-rankings

[Anonymous]

Why all the negativity for Oxy? We toured and my DC loved it and will probably apply ED next year.

Kids seem happy, warm and friendly. Class size is great. Biggest class is 30. Professors seem caring.

Campus is small but absolutely lovely if you like spanish mediterranean architecture. Dorms now all have AC finally.