so I was just admitted a few days ago and I had a few questions.
- I live in ga. would bringing my car be worth the hassle ?
- how does oxy compare to say pitzer or scripps or Wesleyan ?
- do you get to chose your freshman dorm ?
- is oxy quirky ?
I’ll do my best to answer your questions. I’m the mom of a soon-to-be Tiger and both of my parents grew up in Eagle Rock about 2 miles from campus
- I probably wouldn't bring your car. I think about 2/3 of the students bring their vehicles so there is no problem getting around but wow, driving from Georgia?!!! That's an undertaking. I will say that the area around Occidental is more old world suburban so the nightlife likely requires transportation, however, they have a bus that can take you to a lot of the action as well as the other students.
- I've never been to Wesleyan but we've been to Pitzer and Scripps. It's hard to say because they are all different but there are many similarities too. They are tight knit and small but Scripps and Pitzer have, in my opinion, a more defined personality. Pitzer is a "green" school with a big emphasis in that direction. Scripps is all women and has that as a defining identity. My daughter thought she would apply to Scripps but then visited and didn't like it. For whatever reason she found the Claremont Schools to be stuffy and not very welcoming. When we took a tour of CMC (just next door) one of their current students actually said "remember girl, only 9%" meaning the acceptance rate was low. When we toured the Claremont schools it was dead quiet and we saw each person walking around with headphones in or headphones in and plugged into their laptops. Likewise we left there immediately to tour Oxy. We were amazed at how laid back and appropriately social the students at Oxy were. We were concerned there would be a vibe of "hey, I'm from a wealthy family" but honestly, there were some disheveled students who were eating their lunch and not too worried about impressing anyone and just hanging out with their friends. It was a huge plus to our daughter.
- From my knowledge, the dorms are done in a dorm draw with freshman being last to draw. Freshman are matched with other students taking their same core classes (CSP). The freshman dorms were hit and miss. One was pretty dirty with stained carpet and no A/C but I've heard this is just what you deal with your freshman year and then hopefully you move out. I'll be honest I wasn't impressed with the shared space in the dorm. The carpet was stained and it was kind of gross but....it's college and it was the same way for me when I went to school.
- I find Oxy to be somewhat quirky but in a different way than Pitzer or Scripps. Oxy tends to have very liberally minded students and, in my own opinion, could use a little more balance. For instance, a democrat started the republican club hoping to have some balance only to have it become defunct with no interest. Kids were friendly but we did walk past a girl with a shirt that said in huge letter "Pu$$& Power" which was, of course, meant to be offensive and in your face. On the other hand the other people we met appeared to be just normal every day kids. If you follow their political activism you will get to know politically what they're about. The town of Eagle Rock is funky and definitely quirky. When my Parents were kids it was just a suburban area of L.A. It's old, buildings are old and mostly constructed around the time of the war. Over time it's developed into an artsy/queer friendly community and has an eclectic feel to it.
Hope that helps.
WESLEYAN
Following on @Michpadams descriptions of Oxy, Scripps and Pitzer, I would paint Wesleyan as a combination of them all with a little bit of Mudd and CMC thrown in for good measure (Wesleyan is highly regarded for its science, econ, and government departments.) The biggest difference, obviously is location. Wesleyan sits on the edge of a small city commercial district that is zoned for “mixed use”, a euphemism meaning, light industry and a whole lot of institutional housing, For the intrepid (particularly seniors) there are a wide variety of pubs and coffee shops within walking distance, but, the majority of kids stick close to campus. Connecticut is wet and rainy in the spring and humid in the summer. El Nino rendered this past winter rather toothless except for one or two major snow dumps. Wesleyan’s architecture is decidedly old New England interspersed with some interesting modernism. It’s a roomy campus. As you can see from the photo below, you could probably fit all the Claremont colleges and still have room for a good chunk of Oxy, too:
wow thank you guys so much for all the info.
I know this may be petty to some, but weather and location is a big deal to me. I just don’t feel comfortable and happy in the cold or snow or rain. so oxy def sounds about right.
how prestigious is oxy considered ?
does it matter? I’ve read they have excellent job and intern opportunities
Well I’ll say this, my daughter got imp UCLA and is still choosing Oxy. Oxy has a good reputation. It’s not a UCLA reputation but I don’t think that’s important for undergraduate studies. If you’re planning on going on to graduate school you want good letters of rec, a great GPA and opportunities for internships. I think all of that is within reach at Oxy
- I would say bringing your car is worth the hassle. Lots of students do have cars, but mainly because most students end up caving and buying a car out here eventually. Public transportation in LA is horrendous.
- Have not been to any of them so cannot offer help.
- You do not get to choose your freshman dorm or roommate. Room draw begins when you're a sophomore. Freshmen dorms are mediocre. The one best freshmen dorm will be an upperclassmen dorm next year, so all Freshmen dorms are pretty bad. No AC, sketchy shower stalls, tile in dorm rooms, popcorn walls and ceilings...
- Oxy is the definition of quirky. Not politically diverse at all. 90% liberal. Also, most upperclassmen dorms have been converted into "gender neutral" dorms. Bathrooms are gender neutral and most halls and dorms are now co-ed per room. Oxy is not for the faint hearted.