Got questions about OXY?

<p>Thank you zingos!
I'm really active in sports but at what kind of activities the are more pro, meaning like community work, some art or sports, etc..?</p>

<p>Actually never mind about the essay, I lost the disk that it was saved on lol</p>

<p>luluzg-</p>

<p>I would say if you can convince them that you have a passion for something, then that shows a lot of character. The whole quality over quantity thing plays out, as having one meaningful activity is better than a handful of less-meaningful ones. However, I'm sure they wouldn't look down upon being president of 3 clubs :P ... and yes- sports are good - if you're good enough you could probably contact the oxy coach and perhaps get some more points in your favor. We have fairly good collegiate athletics for a small size.
With regards to community service- that connects to the big picture and shows your character.</p>

<p>What about Oxy's Film program? I know that there are a lot of internship opportunities, but I wanted to know what was the general impression about this department around campus....
P.S.: I am also an international student and I applied RD to Oxy</p>

<p>The film department is very respected on campus. The cool thing about film is that for their senior comprehensive project (which all students of any major must fulfill), film majors create their own movie (probably not TOO long), where they cast Oxy students to play roles. It probably is also somewhat interdisciplinary, where film majors are within the category of "Art History and the visual Arts," as I imagine that film majors probably take some other classes art-based that aren't restricted to film. In sum, it's a good program here.</p>

<p>Are you familiar with the Art History or the French Language/Literature departments? I'm looking into transferring to Oxy and I would like to double major in those fields.</p>

<p>Not too familiar with the french language, but I know it definitely exists; most of our language stuff is pretty good. </p>

<p>The Art History department has some amazing people - art history classes are very popular here. </p>

<p>Just note that Oxy has a requirement for seniors to complete a comprehensive project (in some form or another depending on majors), and double majors have to complete two of these projects.</p>

<p>Hey Oxy12,</p>

<p>What is it like to work on the paper? I've been deeply involved on my high school paper the past four years, and am interested in a career in journalism. Can you tell me a little about the atmosphere on the Weekly? (I don't know if you are involved in the production at all, or just the writing...) Do writers pitch their own stories? Is the paper widely read? How big is the staff? Does it mostly cover campus, local, or world news? Etc. You don't have to answer any of these questions--I just want to know what it's like working on the Weekly. Thanks so much!</p>

<p>hey naia, </p>

<p>i'm only a staff writer for the weekly so I can only tell you about the process from that perspective. full-staff meetings take place on Mondays at 12:30 when the entire student body has off for lunch (there are never classes scheduled between 12:30-1:30). if you are a staff writer, you are not exactly forced to show up or anything (I only go if i know i'll have time to write an article that week). During the meeting, the editors from each section (news, opinion, entertainment, sports) pitch their stories and staff writers volunteer to write them. anyone can think of an article topic on their own though and bring it up in the meeting. there's probably like 20 writers, 10-15 editors, and then some other positions. You have to apply to get a position including staff writer but no one should have a problem getting in. Once you've been a staff writer for a semester or two, it isn't very hard to become an editor and move up the chain. Editors get paid on a weekly basis while writers get paid $10 per article that's published. The entire staff is a good mixture of students from each class and editors meet probably 3 more times a week. Articles that are assigned on monday are due that friday and then published on wednesday - u'll see plenty of people walking around with or sitting in the quad reading the Weekly when it comes out on wednesdays. you can visit the newspaper's website to see the kind of things we write about at: The</a> Occidental Weekly </p>

<p>hope I answered all your questions and good luck!</p>

<p>How would you describe the student body? In particular, the rich-to-regular and preppy-to-artsy ratio? </p>

<p>What's the new student orientation like? Did it help you form friendships early? How's the dorm life?</p>

<p>How did their financial aid package compare to other places you applied?</p>

<p>Oxy is the one school on my daughter's list that we probably will <em>not</em> have a chance to visit before she has to make a decision. But she's really impressed with what she's been able to learn about it from afar, and she loves the idea of living in L.A.</p>

<p>Bumping this up in hopes of answers to the above...very grateful for any student insights!</p>

<p>My D just returned from her Oxy visit and was really enthusiastic about it. Loved the campus and really got a nice community vibe. Somebody in her session asked about what kinds of events happen on campus that involve visiting speakers or performers, and it sounded like the list is pretty modest (compared to a place like Claremont, where it sound like they're constantly hosting famous politicians or journalists or whatnot). Any thoughts on that? </p>

<p>She was also excited about the semester at the United Nations. Does anyone know how competitive it is to be accepted, and what the experience is like?</p>

<p>^ On one of my campus visits, our tour guide said that the semester at the UN is the most competitive program at Oxy. I don't remember exactly, but she also said something like they accept 16 students out of maybe 30+ish applicants.</p>

<p>Have any US presidents attended Oxy?</p>

<p>You must not be keeping up with the news (since Oxy has been publicizing this so much)!
Yes in fact, some guy named Barack Obama went here for two years before transferring to Columbia (we still consider him an alumni class of '83)</p>

<p>Also Jack Kemp was a pretty big football legend, and he ran on the republican VP ticket with bob dole I think in the early 90's sometime.</p>

<p>Dear guys,</p>

<p>I'm an intel student applying RD to Oxy. I did apply to a score of colleges but Oxy is pretty much my first-choice reach school (I would definitely come here if accepted). Could you guys please tell me if I have a chance when the contribution is about 4-5k/year (you know, considering the economic downturn this year T.T)</p>

<p>Besides, what is the average SAT of accepted students? I read from the website it ranges from 1880-1900, but I'm afraid it may be obsolete.</p>

<p>Finally, about the decision mail. Do adcom notify by email or airmail? I'm really nervous and tired of this torturing waiting period :(</p>

<p>Many thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Thanks for offering your help. Oxy is one of my top choices. I loved the campus when I visited. I'm currently waiting on my RD letter... I applied as a DWA major, and I'm really interested in writing for the Occidental Weekly. </p>

<p>Why did you choose Oxy?</p>

<p>lennyd- I'm replied on the other thread about the financial aid. I'm not sure about Oxy's policy about giving financial aid to international students; however, for US students I'm pretty sure that financial aid status will have a minimum effect on admission (of course, whether you can pay the tuition or not would be a factor of whether you could enroll). I'm pretty sure the average SAT score (updated) is something around 2050. With that being said, occidental is a small college, and is less stats-driven than a large public institution. They are more interested in how you took advantage of your 4 years of high school, and what sorts of contributions might you bring to the college. And as for your last question, it's definitely a packet :P</p>

<p>Gwu_girl: Good luck with the admissions process as well! DWA is an excellent major here on campus - and it's surprising at how widely-read the oxy weekly is. It seems like a good fit for you so far. </p>

<p>I chose Oxy for pretty much every reason that a guide-book would throw out: small environment, close community, lots of opportunities for conducting research etc.. I got accepted to UCLA and UC Berkeley (I'm a southern california native), but didn't want to be referred to as "Student Number 24029023" etc .. I wanted to be able to form relationships with professors and all of that good stuff. My expectations were met! My professors are really chill, and I love it here. The location is superb also - for me at least, not too far from home/but still a nice distance away. Also it's ridiculously close to downtown LA/pasadena and all of that good stuff.</p>

<p>Thanks! I'm a socal native as well, actually, my aunt owns the Quiznos Sub right next to Oxy hahah. I love the area.</p>

<p>How much spending money do you recommend per month?</p>