Occidental College — Local services in Los Angeles

I am an alum from here, and looking back, I think the worst thing about this school is the academic 'bubble' you get put into while going here. Yes, you got an A+ in Obscure Lit. titles, but how is this going to help you out in the real world? Upon graduation, I was disappointed in the lack of overall direction, of applied focus to achieving your goals in life that Oxy offered me. It seemed there was more of a push to get me to take these little, personalized individualized classes taught on obscure subjects by professors for whom that was their specialty than having a solid foundation overall. Yes, the specialty classes were interesting, but unless you were going to go on and study those obscure subjects for the rest of your life, then it really was not a better choice than an intro level class. Granted, in any college you run the risk of this happening, but I felt with the extremely high levels of tuition they charge (more expensive than USC, do they mention that?), there would be more about after graduation plans other than a month long series of meetings with counselors the last semester of your senior year, where you review your entire academic career, but unfortunately not in time to be able to change anything. If you are off by a little bit, like short some credits or something, you are pressured to come back and pay more money on top of your already high student loans for another semester to complete the degree. The other bad thing I can think of is that the degrees are in danger of becoming too individualized. How can you look an employer in the eye and tell them you got a degree in "Critical theory and Social Justice"? They are either going to love it (small chance), or look at you in bewilderment and move onto the next subject (large chance), especially since more and more employers now are interested in what specific classes you have taken, making sure your GPA is not buoyed by too many Intro to Music classes. Overall, they are good at the things they do, but this is such a small number of things that it disregards the requirements of the majority of positions available to students upon graduation. I would say if you are planning on getting a degree from here, take your GE reqs some other place to save money and then finish up here, as it is very expensive, and have at least a general idea of what field you want to work in upon graduation, so that you can tailor you academic experience to work with you, not against you. Other than this, the facilities are decent, the food is good, and the location is pretty good for someone new to...

This was my second choice school. I ended up graduating from Oxy; on time and left with a major I was happy with upon graduation. Here's why the school is a 5 in my opinion. 1). Small class size. I came from a high school that didn’t prepare me well for college (graduated high school with a 4.5 GPA). When I got to Oxy, it was a struggle. I overcame the struggle because my professors had time to work with me one-on-one since class size was small (5 – 10 per class session, 15 - 25 for big lectures). 2). I was not interested in a traditional major. I was interested in Medicine - but didn't want to be a doctor. I was interested in ethical issues with medical technologies and it's applications in the health field, but I didn't want to be a tech person. So, I created my own major (actually another student and I did) “Bioethics” (Biology, Sociology, Psychology, Religious Studies & Philosophy). It was difficult - I had to manage and meet expectations from 4 different advisors from 4 depts. AND I had to write a Thesis (undergrad!). I left the school satisfied because I felt I could get a job in the Allied Health field - and I did. 3). The size of the campus (small) and its location was also a plus for me. I don't like getting lost in the crowd. I like an environment where I can easily meet people; they get to know me – the person; and I get to know them - Oxy provided this. 5). I got a chance to study abroad. It would have been difficult for me to get this opportunity at a big school where I would have been competing with hundreds and hundreds of equally qualified students. 6). At the time of my matriculation, Oxy was a Multi-cultural campus - I met people from all over the world, some of which I am still friends with till this day. Because the campus was small, I was able to make lasting friendships and really get to know my fellow Tigers on a personal level. I was a Class Senator, Resident Advisor, Student Government Rep, International Student Liaison, AND I worked on campus as well. This is not to say the school was/is perfect. No school is - but I went there with goals and objectives - and I met all of them when I graduated. I went on to grad school right after Oxy because I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I have fond memories of my 4 years at Oxy. If you go to any school with no idea of what You want for yourself when you...

Graduated in '87 and look back at my 4 years at Occidental as giving me a strong foundation for life. Took some adjusting coming from a CA public education (academically speaking) but being taught how to learn by not limiting yourself to only one point of view...that's liberal arts for you. End up knowing a little about a lot. And so glad to this day I took advantage of the Oxy in Washington program apart from D.C. in...