<p>@cljboys2000</p>
<p>Wow. Great questions.</p>
<p>First, I know what you mean about Oxy’s obscurity on the East Coast. In the spring of my senior year, each one of us had to stand up in front of the entire student body and parents to say which college we were attending. Because I was second in my class, people were expecting me to go to some typical top, well-know school. But people had never heard of Occidental (I was the first student from my school to ever go here) and I must admit that it was somewhat embarrassing. But let me tell you: Once you get here, it really doesn’t matter (and in fact, I met five fellow freshmen that were from my neighboring private schools in Baltimore in my first year). For the most part, everyone here is happy and proud to be here. Oxy is definitely better known on the West Coast. It also has a good rep within the United Nations community worldwide and in Washington, D.C. because of our strong alumni base working in those particular fields. One of my roommates (who grew up in Bel Air, Los Angeles says that Occidental is like the Franklin & Marshall of the West Coast - no one here really knows about F&M but obviously it’s still a stellar school). That said, most of your alumni connections will be based in Southern California, the Bay Area, New York, or DC just because that’s where our graduates prefer to go after college. (More later on specific Econ opportunities). Still, you will not suffer when it comes to applying to grad schools anywhere else in the country. I don’t have any stats or anything, but I know of many recent grads who have gone to some great grad programs, if not directly after graduation then after a year or two doing fellowships or travel. If you’re in the top quarter of your graduating Oxy class, you’ll definitely be in good shape. Occidental certainly has a good rep in the world of academia and admission, especially compared to its familiarity in the general public.</p>
<p>Personally, I have had no problem with the cross-country commute. I fly back and forth for thanksgiving, winter break, and summer - and usually go on a spring break trip to cabo with college friends. My parents also are usually able to fly out once or twice a school year. Most of my high school friends stayed on the East Coast, choosing to go to small colleges throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. They can drive home within a matter of hours, but generally don’t go home that often but instead drive to each other to visit. While I still visit some of them on my breaks at home, I intentionally chose not to stay as close because I feel that it would prevent me from making more close friendships at college. Some of my close friends here hail from the Northwest region (lots of students here from Portland and Seattle), Los Angeles area, and DC. My friends from Los Angeles invite us over their houses occasionally as they tend to visit home a few times a month. In no way is Oxy a commuter school. The only times of the year that the campus feels empty are during Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, Spring Break, and Summer Break. Lots of people take trips to the beach, Vegas, or Joshua Tree during Fall Break if they don’t go home.</p>
<p>Having to take a flight complicates things during summers if you have a lot of stuff with you. I’ve had to rent storage units over the summer with friends because we have compiled some extra furniture and stuff over the years - but Oxy offers an inexpensive storage plan for those that don’t have too much big stuff.</p>
<p>I must share though that my roommate in my first year was from Staten Island and could not afford to fly home except during winter break, and having come from a large family and the first to attend college, he became homesick and ended up not being able to keep up his grades after the end of the first year to receive federal financial aid. That’s really the only case I’ve seen or heard about, besides another friend who decided she would rather attend her large state school in Wisconsin instead, that a student couldn’t deal with living so far away from home.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, my sister, who is now a sophomore at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. is able to take the train home whenever she wants - we both are satisfied with our own situations so I’d say that it’s really up to personal preference. I would look back to see how you’ve handled any past long-term travel or experiences. For me, I was able to travel a lot and spend relatively long periods away from home before college so I knew I wouldn’t really have an issue to begin with.</p>
<p>Regarding economics, its one of the more popular majors, but no major dominates in numbers by any means. The Diplomacy & World Affairs (DWA) major is probably the most celebrated because a lot of ambassadors have graduated from this program and the fact that it has a unique tie with the United Nations in New York. You can even double-major in DWA and Econ or major in Econ and minor in some other subject like Politics, which I might be doing.</p>
<p>Payden & Rygel, Nestle, and Southern California Edison all have an established relationship with Oxy and recruit here every year for both summer internships and full-time positions for graduating seniors. Also, if you manage to earn above a 3.5 GPA by your senior year, alumni will pass your resume along to their HR departments at Goldman Sachs and McKinsey. Our Career Development Center will help you put together a new resume if you need help and will even give you practice interviews. That said, many of our students, even econ majors, will decide to pursue fellowship opportunities such as Fulbright, Capitol Fellows, Teach for America, and Peace Corp before applying to grad school. Not many Oxy students try to go straight into MBA programs as we are advised to get some practical field experience first. In fact, most business programs want you to have at least 5 years experience first. </p>
<p>At GW, my sister complains that almost everyone is vying for similar political internship and the competition can be unbearable and off-putting. Here at Oxy, the student body is very diverse in their career aspirations so you really won’t be competing with too many others so the exact same jobs.</p>
<p>While most students pursing finance careers don’t typically attend liberal arts colleges, there are a number of amazing opportunities here that will help you stand out. These include the Blyth Fund, which is a 14-student investment committee that runs a real six-figure portfolio. There is also a newly created Impact Fund that aims to use its endowment to support microfinance. There is also a student-run coffee shop that has several manager positions, including a Sales Analysis position. Some interesting econ classes include applied econometrics (our professor wrote the book), managerial economics (based on the Harvard MBA course), Economics of Financial Markets, and Personnel Management, just to name a few. There are plenty of other opportunities both on campus and throughout Los Angeles, but I am just sharing what I know best.</p>
<p>I hope this all helps!</p>
<p>@dancepsychlove</p>
<p>Both are great schools. It was a tough decision for me but I definitely don’t have any regrets choosing Oxy. One thing to note is that it seemed to me (during my visit to Davidson) that Greek life played more of a central role in social life there. For me, I didn’t want that to dominate everything. </p>
<p>Good luck with your decision! I recommend visiting both campuses again after you get in before making the final choice (at least that’s what I did!).</p>
Thanks for talking to us.