My son is seriously considering Occidental College. I have some questions I am hoping someone can answer… (thank you in advance for your input)
- I am aware of the alleged rape a couple of years ago. Although I am very impressed with Occidental College, this seems to be an issue hanging over the school. I am questioning whether it is a supportive environment for my son and a less than cohesive situation on the campus. Also in this regard, has the reputation of Occidental suffered because of the incident – therefore decreasing the value of the education resulting in diminished job opportunities or graduate school admissions?
- What are your experiences with Occidental’s graduate employment opportunities and/or graduate school admissions. Is it worth the cost?
- How difficult is it to compete on a sports team and also pursue a pre-med curriculum?
- Do most students bring a car to school?
- If a student is admitted early decision 2, is it possible to still be offered merit aid?
- I have read the make-up of the student body is predominantly from financially very well-off families. Is this true?
Hi there! Sorry no one has answered your questions yet! I’m a current first-year at Occidental college so I will try to answer your questions to the best of my ability.
- Occidental has done its best to change the environment of the campus by educating its students more about sexual harassment and assault, particularly in the first-year and transfer orientations. In my opinion, the school has does the best it can in education and dealing with sexual harassment, however, this issue is something that plagues all college & university campuses, the only reason Occidental gets a lot of the heat is because some of their sexual assault cases are more publicized due to the trials. I definitely do not think that the sexual assault cases, however have decreased the value of an Occidental College education. The environment on campus is very supportive and driven and these sexual assault cases have increased serious discussion about sexual assault and harassment on college campuses and the best way to deal with them.
- I personally don’t have any information about graduate school. I know that it is an option but there are very few graduate school students on campus.
- I think that being on a sports team and pursuing a pre-med curriculum is difficult, but manageable. The key thing is to make sure you stay on top of work and work with your professors in case a conflict arises.
- There are a significant number of students who chose to bring a car on campus, but it isn’t a necessity. If you plan on having an off-campus job, living off campus, or plan on going off campus frequently then I would say you might want a car. However there are other options: Zipcar, Uber, BengalBus (a shuttle service that will give you rides within a few miles of campus), etc. You will also likely become friends with a least person who has a car in the case you need it. I would say to go your first year without having a car and then decide after that if it is necessary. First-years are allowed to bring cars and parking permits are free.
- Other than the application and financial aid deadlines, there’s no difference between ED I or ED II.
- I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily the case. About 71% of students receive some sort of financial aid. While there are going to very well-off families, I would say the economic makeup of the school is fairly diverse.
Hope this answers all of your questions!
Hi.
Thought I’d weigh in. Our daughter is a junior at Oxy (Occidental), after choosing it over a number of other colleges. She has loved it and we feel she has gotten a great education. Yes, Oxy has been in the news about sexual assault, but they have received a lot of media attention. This is a major issue on most college campuses. As a parent, I do feel that the administration has done a lot of education with both students, faculty, and parents. In fact, it has been more transparent than most schools. I do not believe the president is going anyway and the protests last fall were not unique and were present on many college campuses, particularly Southern Cali. That being said, historically Oxy is a politically active campus. The students there are interested in engaging in dialogue around many issues. Dean Gonzalez is leaving because he became President of Kalamazoo College, a natural progression for him.
Athletics are quite doable at Oxy, as it is D-III and academics come first. Pre-med is always tough anywhere. Our daughter has been on the swim team all three years, although she is currently studying abroad. She has also been on the student government and in a sorority (Greek Life is a very small part of Oxy life). College athletics can be a jump, depending on your high school experience. Here is a video about athletics at Oxy: http://www.oxyathletics.com/video/ifyoucanplayyoucanplay?list=/video/index
Oxy is one of the most diverse liberal arts colleges in the country. Our daughter receives both merit/need based financial aid. I don’t know really know anything about ED/2 and financial aid. There are a lot of wealthy families at most of the significant LAC…Oxy has a wide range of students…definitely not a place of primarily “well-off” families.
Graduate school. Our daughter started as premed and is now majoring in psychology and neuroscience. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in neuropsychology. Oxy has a great admission rate to graduate and particularly, pre-med. This summer she will be on campus doing independent research with a professor. The summer fellowship is fully funded by Oxy. Oxy also boasts one of the highest yearly numbers of Fulbrights at LACs in the country. I think they do well graduate school-wise.
I hope I have answered a lot of the questions. Please feel free to privately message me. On another note, we have a rising high school senior. Although she is looking across the country, after spending a few days at Oxy and going to class, Oxy is high on her list. Hope this helps.