<p>Well, we made the trek out to Occidental from our home in the midwest, and after spending a few days in the southern California sun (actually mostly cloudy), our daughter has decided to decline Oxy's offer of admission, and attend school at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. From a financial perspective, Rhodes was (for us) a much better value---our net cost at Rhodes will be about $15K less than Oxy, but the financial difference was not the reason for her choice. Her decision came down to some things she experienced/learned on her campus visit, that are in all likelihood not really representative of the Oxy expereince as a whole, but stuck out in her mind. One thing that turned her off was the characterization of the class registration process---several students told her it was not unusual for students to be shut out of multiple classes when registering; one young lady at a student Q/A session even told us she was not able to register for any classes in a recent semester. The students then went on to explain, you could go to the instructors individually after registration and "beg" (my word, not theirs) your way into a class. They indicated that this typically got them into the classes they wanted, but the idea of having to go through this process was not attractive to my daughter. Coincidentally, the week we were there, there was an editorial in the Oxy student newspaper that addressed this same issue. Another thing she did not like was the possibility of being put into a "forced" triple dorm room her freshman year. From what was explained to us, the "forced" triples are used because of a shortage of housing, and the rooms used are, in fact, not real triples but larger double rooms. I personally did not see that as a big deal, but daughter did. Also, daughter attended a class--she was told to introduce hereslf to the instructor prior to class, and at one class when she did, my daughter said the instructor seemed totally disinterested that she was there. After class, my daughter went up the instructor to ask a few questions and say thank you and good bye, (she was waiting immediately next to another student who was resolving an issue with the instructor), and the instructor left without acknowledging her at all. I told her that the instructor may have had a commitment, perhaps she did not see her, was having a bad day---who knows, but that single circumstance was likely not indicative of the typical Oxy instructor.</p>
<p>To me, none of these were showstoppers, but daughter felt otherwise. I am sure Oxy is a great place, and to those of you who attend, I hope you have a wonderful experience.</p>