<p>Please tell me everything you know about Occidental College. I'm planning on applying there as a transfer so any info would be appreciated. How are the academics (if I transfer, I plan to major in Econ)? Is it well known/respected in LA? Diverese student body? Athletics (particularly interested in basketball)? How is the campus? Social life? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Well, I visited there this summer because it was on my list of possible colleges. I went on the tour and also listened to the admissions info session. The campus is located in Eagle Rock, which seemed pretty ghetto like...tons of bars in windows etc., it seemed like a pretty low class lived there. The school is back on a hill in the residential part of Eagle Rock. The campus is landscaped very nice, and has great buildings. I know for incoming freshman it has pretty solid acadmeics, I don't know about transfers. It is a DIII school, so you could probably play basketball. I think they play in the CCAA with schools like Chapman, La Verne, Pomona, etc. I don't know how diverse it is, there are only about 2,000 students. The tour guide said you get to know pretty much everyone really well. It reminded me of my high school in that aspect. I guess that would be the main reason I'm not applying there, wayyyy to small...I'm tired of high school, and I want to go to a big college, or at least bigger than my school. The tour guide also said people go into LA all the time using the bus system, but I got the idea that there was nothing to do in the immediate area (Eagle Rock). Anyway, that's what I learned from my few hours spent there, hope it was helpful.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info heefar7, I posted in the Oxy forum awhile ago, but my post remains lonely.</p>
<p>Strmadden, I do know that Occidental is very diverse; As for basketball, they say they have 100% grad rate for four-year players, which is impressive; they stress academics and sports, a nice balance. They've won some conference tournaments, and one of their past players was a SCIAC conference player of the year and Rhodes scholar candidate..also, the school is minutes away from Staples Center, so you could watch basketball there, which is a plus. It's great that you're interested in basketball, i am too :)</p>
<p>Students are required to live on campus their 1st year so you'll be able to meet a lot of people, and 70% stay all four years</p>
<p>All info I write is from this booklet i received</p>
<p>I'd be glad to hear more as well</p>
<p>Anybody know anything about the dorms? Are the nice? Old? Cramped? Do students have to leave campus to find something to do or are their parties on campus? Sorry for all the questions but I need as much info as possible since I'm currently going to school in Boston and can't visit until late November.</p>
<p>I strongly disaggree with heefar's comment about it seeming pretty ghetto, if Eagle Rock is ghetto, then the area of USC must be the slums to you.</p>
<p>Eagle Rock is not ghetto, it's just a middle class neighborhood. Cross the street and you'll see white small houses with green lawns that I'm pretty sure senior citizens live in. However there's really nothing exciting to do in Eagle Rock.</p>
<p>I think in Los Angeles, or maybe because I attend a public high school where kids don't really expect to go to college, Occidental is unheard of, but if your familiar with Occidental then you'll know that the academics are really good there. It's a really good school that no one really knows about. The campus is small, compared to other schools, however the people are really friendly on campus. I would recommend Occidental if you wanted great academics with a clean life(something you probably won't find in greater LA).</p>
<p>What do you mean by "clean life"?</p>
<p>Bump. Anyone else?</p>
<p>The dorm I saw on a visit last winter did not impress, but the rest of the school looked very good. Overall, the campus had an interesting feel - blend of northeastern LAC and laid-back California. Excellent academics across the board, with a surprising number of paid summer research oppportunities. Unique diplomacy program and more diverse than the majority of LACs. Recently met the parent of a second-year student majoring in Chemistry. An academic administrator, he had nothing but good things to say about the school.</p>
<p>Didn't they film 90210 there?</p>
<p>That's great about the paid summer research opportunities. I'm interested in knowing more about any internship, co-op opportunities at this school, and job prospects after graduation</p>
<p>By clean life I mean that Occidental doesn't seem to be in LA. Life in Occidental doesn't seem to be rushed and pretentious.</p>
<p>reidm-
Can you describe the dorms in a little more detail? Were they smaller than average college dorms? Were the buildings old? Did they look rundown?</p>
<p>my cousin absolutely loves oxy, im going down to visit this weekend. i'll let you know what I think of it.</p>
<p>Please do. That would be great!</p>
<p>We just saw one dorm at Oxy, and compared to a dozen LAC dorms we got a look at I would rate the rooms a bit below average in size and general appearance. Pretty narrow range though - the dorm rooms we saw across the country went nfrom sort-of-ok to pretty good - none of them looked fantastic or really bad.</p>