<p>Hi everyone! My name is Daphne and I'm an intern with the Occidental College Office of Admissions. If you have any questions about extracurriculars, academics, the application process- pretty much anything about Oxy life- a few other interns and I will be happy to answer them. :)</p>
<p>What are some things (specific and general) about Oxy’s academics and social atmosphere that make them stand out when compared to other colleges and universities?</p>
<p>Hi Daphne,</p>
<p>I’m going to be a freshmen applicant to Oxy, and one of the supplemental questions is to describe your visit to the school. It’s a required question, but what if you haven’t had the time/financial means to visit? Thanks so much!</p>
<p>What happened to Daphne?</p>
<p>Anyone else want to answer these questions?</p>
<p>Hey everyone, I’m still around to answer questions! :)</p>
<p>Midnightscarlet- The “liberal” in liberal arts college refers to the interdisciplinary nature of the education you’ll receive here at Occidental College. The Core Program, which everyone must complete as a prerequisite for graduation, ensures that students develop intercultural awareness and complete coursework in a variety of disciplines. I have often heard Oxy students comment on the phenomenon of how specific and seemingly unrelated courses connect with one another. When speaking with one of the Deans of the college administration, I learned that when the school is hiring professors, they make sure those candidates are willing to have their research and projects intersect with other departments. </p>
<p>The academics at Oxy also take advantage of the fact that we are a small liberal arts school within an urban setting. Many courses integrate community engagement into their curriculum, requiring students to work with L.A. based organizations or attend cultural events. We also have classes where the coursework extends into a broader scope, such as a Disaster Politics class that sends students to volunteer in New Orleans over winter break or a Religious Studies class that sends students to Turkey to carry out their own research projects. </p>
<p>Oxy also offers programs that are unique in the sense that they aren’t often opportunities offered to undergraduates at other schools. For example, we have Oxy at the U.N., where we send students to intern for the United Nations in New York City. To my knowledge we are the only college in the United States that allows undergraduates to participate in a program like this. We also have Campaign Semester, where students enroll in a course and spend most of the semester interning for political campaigns across the nation. During your time at Oxy you can choose to apply to do Undergraduate Summer Research and work one-on-one with a professor on developing an individual project. Like other schools, students have the option of studying abroad their junior year. While Oxy is a small campus, academic departments encourage students’ exploration and hands-on learning within the surrounding community.</p>
<p>In terms of social atmosphere, Oxy is a community of ~2,000 students. So there’s a huge chance that you’re going to get to know pretty much everyone (aside from first-years) by your senior year. There’s always a chance that you will run into someone you know when you’re making your way across the Quad, and you might see this as either a good or a bad thing. I’ve found that Oxy’s student body is comparable to the size of my old high school, but the atmosphere isn’t clique-y or exclusive at all. Generally people have the tendency to form their own social groups depending on what extracurriculars or courses they partake in but they are all very open and friendly towards one another. </p>
<p>If you’d like me to elaborate any further, please let me know!</p>
<p>starlightdawn- If you haven’t had the time or financial means to visit the college, then you don’t have to worry about answering the question. We would appreciate an honest and personalized account of your college visit, so if you aren’t able to produce one, we’ll understand if you leave that question unanswered in your application.</p>
<p>Daphne,
Would you be able to tell me how competitive the six-year Oxy/Columbia BA/JD program is for applicants within Oxy? It’s a really appealing program for someone like me who would like to go to law school eventually, but I am not sure if it something where 100 students are competing for 2 spots within Oxy… </p>
<p>Many thanks!
Superhuman</p>
<p>Hey SuePerHughManHi5! The six-year BA/JD program is extremely competitive. Since it isn’t specific to Occidental students, you will also be competing with non-Oxy applicants for a few spots within Columbia’s Accelerated Interdisciplinary Program in Legal Education.</p>
<p>Daphne,
Thank you! I’ll keep that in mind!</p>
<p>Daphne, </p>
<p>What are Oxy’s merit scholarships like? I’ve been trying to do research, but I haven’t read much about them. Some schools tell you specifically, for example, if you get a 34 on your ACT, you get a full-ride. So basically, I’m asking about Oxy’s non-need based scholarships</p>
<p>profjohncarter- Occidental merit scholarships are awarded through the Office of Admissions rather than Financial Aid. We tend to award them to the top 10% of applicants. Admission officers evaluate who will receive the scholarship using a holistic process, so they will be taking your entire application into consideration, not just your test scores and GPA.</p>
<p>Thanks Daphne for answering my question.</p>
<p>Daphne, what is the acceptance rate for oxy students applying to medical school?</p>
<p>Hi Daphne,</p>
<p>I’m a prospective student from India. My question is- how much emphasis does Oxy really place on diversity of the student population? To be honest, I’ve read/heard many rumors about Oxy having a majority of ‘rich white guys’ in the student body.</p>
<p>Lolface849, my son is applying, and while he is white we are far from rich. In fact, in running the net price calculator for Occidental, it is apparent that they give very good financial aid to middle class people of moderate means, like our family. I work in an inner city school, and unfortunately smart students who may be minority and/or poor tend to dismiss expensive liberal arts colleges like Oxy as being beyond their means, without even looking into how much financial aid they may provide. I guess the diversity would depend on how much Oxy reaches out to underserved communities to attract students of color or who are economically disadvantaged.</p>
<p>Here are the stats for the Class of 2017 from the Oxy website:
58% women
42% men
Asian American: 19%
African American: 9%
Caucasian: 58%
Latino/Latina: 12%
Native American/Native Hawaiian: 2%
International/Dual Citizen: 8%
Language other than English spoken at home: 25%</p>
<p>58% women… that is becoming the norm for colleges in the USA. In fact, private college and universities here have a 60-40 female-to-male ratio on average. So “majority… rich white guys” is definitely a thing of the past almost everywhere.</p>
<p>Does anybody know Oxy’s stats when it comes to medical school acceptance?</p>
<p>What type of a length is desired for the writing supplements? namely the one on a personal habit or idiosyncrasy?</p>
<p>@projohncarter I asked a representative once that visited my school, she said around 70% I believe.</p>
<p>Hi Daphne! I applied as a freshman and Regular Decision applicant. I have two questions:
- When will I hear back from Oxy regarding my admissions decision?
- How far in advance do I have to schedule a visit?
Thank you so much!</p>