I’m planning to transfer to USC after my first year of college and have chosen to go to Occidental in the meantime. I’ve heard that Oxy is a good transfer school and a feeder school to USC. But even still… how easy is it to maintain a +3.6 GPA at Oxy?
A feeder school? I don’t think so. I do know there is some speculation of some sort of working relationship with Oxy and USC for medical school as they seem to accept a lot of pre-med students but that is pure speculation. Why not just apply to USC directly?
I did. And I will again. This is about transferring.
well a 3.6 is a mix of mostly A’s and B’s.
An A- is a 3.67
A B+ is a 3.3
you can do the math
I also was planning on transferring to USC after my first year but i truly think staying at oxy would be better. Though their acceptance rate is pretty high and doesnt seem to be selective, Oxy makes you work.
It wont be easy getting a 3.6, not to say that it’s impossible.
I recently transferred out of Occidental after spending 2 years there and thought I was in the minority, however I was shocked to discover how many students attend Oxy with the intent of transferring (I did not attend with that intent). It is definitely a great feeder school for other schools in CA. It doesn’t have much of a good reputation outside of CA due to its relative obscurity (a reputation that has likely been tarnished even more after recent events).
Pre-med track classes would be rather difficult, Oxy’s academic rigor is pretty on par with other more selective schools. You’ll work hard, but a 3.6 GPA is definitely doable. Be sure to attend office hours as much as possible -I found that helped with keeping grades up.
Does anyone know how Oxy compares to a community college in terms of academic difficulty?
@EnduranceArtist I transferred to Oxy from a community college this year and as a student who didn’t actually belong at a CC (I loaded up credits, took some of the most rigorous classes there, stayed involved on campus, had a part time job), it’s about the same. If you work hard in CC and carry those studying skills over to Oxy… the transition will be fine.
I think alot of people underestimate community colleges, perhaps CC’s don’t cover complex topics with a unique perspective or don’t have alot of assignments which challenge students to analyze material in detail… but they do offer small classes where you’re interacting with your professor. For me, that meant learning happened without the intense assignments…
Oxy is similar in that aspect, you learn a lot because of discussion based classes, however, some classes also require alot more outside work (papers, readings, projects) than I saw in CC.
I also know a couple of people who transferred to Oxy from USC, I think the colleges are so different that its not so much about academic difficulty but how you learn and what atmosphere you’re looking for.
So much depends on your major. If you’re a hard science major you will likely find it very challenging. If you have taken classes like AP Chemistry or AP Physics in high school and did well in them you should be fine. It’s not easy, and in a small college it WILL be noticed if you don’t show up for class or participate in class discussions.
@EnduranceArtist I did had my first semester and I have no experience with community college, but I’d say Oxy is jsut as difficult as having all APs in high school. Hard and tedious, but definitely doable.