Oxy RD Discussion 2015

Colleges and Universities A-Z Occidental College
301

<p>Oh yeah…stats.</p>

<p>Decision: Waitlisted</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t take it
ACT: Comp. 30. Highest: English (32), Reading (30), Math (32), Science (29)
SAT II: Didn’t take, didn’t send.
Unweighted GPA: 3.06
Weighted GPA: 3.23
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 50% I think it is? Might be top 25%…
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Psychology (3)
Senior Year Course Load: Religion (Catholic School), AP Statistics, AP Human Geography, Shakespeare, AP Environmental Science, Science Fiction, US Government and Politics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): California Arts Scholar. I’m not sure if that’s very major.</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars: I’m the tech head of costumes at my school with 2 other crew members. Basically I’m in charge of all costuming on campus for all shows. I’m also the manager of our “competitive” improv team.
Job/Work Experience: Internship at a costume shop and Halloween-time work at a well-known Makeup/Halloween store.
Volunteer/Community service: American Cancer Society since I was 8. I used to go volunteer with my Grandma every Friday.
Summer Activities: Various theatre programs every summer. I’ve been to this one theatre camp 5 years in a row, and others have varied.
Essays: About costuming.
Teacher Recommendations: 1 from AP Geography teacher (this is the second time she’s taught me), 1 from French I-III teacher,
Counselor Rec: It’s there.
Additional Rec: 1 from my previous Improv moderator and film teacher</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Private, Catholic, etc.
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Family connection to the school through my grandma.</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Drive and focus of my extracurriculars. They’re very strong and very theatre based. I’m not doing a little bit of everything, but a lot of 2-3 things that I love. And one of my recommendations was REALLY good.
Weaknesses: <em>sings the “My GPA Sucks” song</em>
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: See above.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Chapman (B.A. Theatre), Clark (Undecided), Goucher (Undecided), Ithaca (B.S. Theatre Arts Management), CSUN, CSUF
Waitlisted: Oxy (Sad.) and Muhlenberg (Withdrawn as I don’t really want to go)
Denied: Lawrence (Odd, but it’s cold so it’s okay) and Oberlin (I’m not shocked)</p>

<p>General Comments: I hope those of you that attend have a lovely time, and that those of you that do not have a lovely time wherever you DO go. Also, if you’re not going, please don’t forget to tell them, so I can take your spot :P.</p>

302

<p>Is occidental’s waitlist ranked?</p>

303

<p>Nope. 10 char.</p>

304

<p>Waitlisted. 3.75. ACT: 29
5’s on some AP tests
general sadness
hoping i get in so i don’t have to go to the dreaded University of Illinois</p>

305

<p>accepted.
3.4 unweighted/ 3.6 weighted gpa
31 act
art supplement, good ecs, recs.</p>

<p>I am leaning towards not going because after a lot of thought, I am not sure how I feel about the size.</p>

306

<p>Visited Oxy with my S this weekend (for the first time) and liked it a lot–seems like a really nice mix of students. Upon our return, we learned that my son has been offered 100% tuition scholarship, which is fantastic. (W pay room and board and incidentals). Has anyone else received a similar package? How is Oxy able to be so generous? Does anyone know where Oxy is at in terms of admissions trends, ie, what sorts of students they are trying to attract?</p>

307

<p>Domi, that’s terrific! Your son must be something special! They gave my D a trustee scholarship (12,500), plus a small need based grant. I don’t think they’re as generous with everyone as they were with you, but I’m not sure. My D’s offers from other schools were slightly better, but she loved Oxy so much when we visited last week (we’re from NJ and she had applied without visiting based on everything she read about it) that she has made her final decision and is going to Oxy! I’m taking a few deep breaths about the money, but it truly does seem like a great school, and she liked the other students she met. And the campus is gorgeous!</p>

308

<p>Hi Befuddled: Were you there for the Open House on Friday? Would have loved to connected to another East Coaster! We were there on Friday and went back Sat evening to see the screening of Film majors’ senior projects. Spent a gorgeous afternoon at the Huntington Library nearby!<br>
My S really liked the vibe of the student body-the fact that there are solid academics, an athletic culture (he is a tennis player) and good arts representation with some fantastic internship/job connections because of LA.
S was waitlisted at Oberlin (and a few other schools) and still feels that the academics may be better there, but given what a positive invitation he is getting at Oxy, and its many advantages, I think he should go there!
This has been a real ride for us–as he was denied his top choices (Wesleyan and Vassar) but I actually think Oxy is a great fit for him!
Anyway, we will be accepting at Oxy, so hope our kids will meet in the Fall! What are your D’s interests?</p>

309

<p>domi555-Congratulations! Great scholarship! Was that financial aid, academic or something else? Occidental is a great school and a great choice!
Thanks!</p>

310

<p>It was need-based financial aid, but I am thinking they must not offer so much to everyone, so hoping that there is a “merit” component:)</p>

311

<p>Does anyone out there know how Occidental compares to Oberlin? My S was waitlisted at Oberlin and is still interested in the school.</p>

312

<p>Hi Domi. No, we had booked our trip before we even knew if she was accepted to Oxy, and were just hoping she’d get into there and/or Pitzer (she was waitlisted at Pitzer). It was her spring break week, so we figured we’d take a chance and book the airline tickets early. So as it turns out we came back to NJ on Thursday, and missed the open house. But it was fine – she sat in on a class, we went on a tour, and she had dinner with a bunch of students.<br>
So you’re from the east coast too? Oxy does seem good at attracting people from all over, which is one of the things my D likes.<br>
As for comparing it to Oberlin, I don’t know too much about it, but Oberlin is certainly in a smaller town and more isolated. I know it’s good for music, and generally well regarded overall. It would certainly be a different experience than Oxy, in terms of its setting. My D was waitlisted at Vassar and denied at Wesleyan as well, but she’s happy with her choice. She would like to study some combination of psychology and economics. How about your son? I guess we’ll see each other at orientation!</p>

313

<p>Hi Befuddled,
Sounds like you had a great visit, and I very much hope we’ll meet at orientation! My son is humanities oriented, music (jazz drummer & composer) and is hoping to play varsity tennis. We are in Cambridge, MA. Where are you in NJ?</p>