Please Help... Do you think I would like Occidental?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Occidental College
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<p>Hello, I am currently about 30 minutes away from Occidental but sadly I don't have time to visit, I have to go back to Maryland. I just went on a college visit, and before the visit, this was my list of schools based on how bad I wanted to go to them...</p>

<p>-Lawrence University
-Stanford
-McGill
-Pomona
-Williams
-Claremont McKenna
-St. Johns
-Pitzer</p>

<p>Now my list is...</p>

<p>-Claremont McKenna*** (it was love at first sight)
-Pitzer
-Pomona
-Williams
-McGill</p>

<p>My list is getting really small now, and these schools are all pretty selective. I think I have a somewhat decent shot at CMC and maybe Pomona/Williams (better shot at CMC because I fit in with the student body there more) and a little bit better shot at Pitzer and McGill (It's so weird that after visiting the consortium, I still have the original 3 on my list, even though they're drastically different. Also weird that my #1 school isn't even on my list anymore.)</p>

<p>Anyway, on to Occidental. From what I have read, it seems like a very nice school, and it is in the perfect location based on my preference. Can anyone shed some light? I plan to be an Economics major with another major/ minor/ interdisciplinary focus on international relations. Can anyone (especially students and recent alums) shed some light on it? I really want to visit, but just don't have the time.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>I just recently visited less than a month ago. I’ll just try to share my own experience for what it’s worth. On my drive there, I noticed the immediately surrounding area wasn’t the most appealing…, but once you drive up the college road (up a hill) it’s a residential neighborhood with cute little houses surrounded by a bunch of trees. The campus was pretty small, but there’s nothing I could compare it to since it’s the only campus I’ve ever been to. It’s VERY clean and nicely landscaped and the buildings are aesthetically pleasing. The inside of the library, on the other hand, was very, very outdated. I’m not confident it was the only library on campus though. You must imagine though, it’s not like students (we) would be spending a lot of time in there. I mean, I’d probably just take the books and go back to my dorm, so the underwhelming library didn’t have too much weight in my overall judgement. It was a Saturday, so it wasn’t bustling with students, I probably saw less than 20 milling around campus or sitting on the lawn. I wasn’t on a tour so I didn’t go inside any other buildings. The dorms looked nice from the outside and there were some amazing views of LA, which I visited in a short 10 minute drive afterwards (BIG PLUS!! (: ). So, that was the gist of my visit to Oxy. After I get accepted, hopefully, I can go on a more detailed visit.</p>